The Tales of a Lonely Soul
by Circe.godess.of.Magic
Summary: Nico finds himself on an Island with a stranger. He is left with no memories except for his own name. Where will his adventures lead him next?
1. Chapter 1: The Poisonus Garden

a/n: Hey y'all, so this is my first time writing fanfiction, my first story and first chapter. Needless to say, I'm pretty nervous. I would really appreciate it if you guys would take the time to read and review. Thanks so much, enjoy!

Also, I own nothing but the plot, all rights go to Rick Riordan.

Nico's p.o.v

He opened his eyes to a beautiful garden, bright colours of flowers and leaves filled his vision. The ground was soft, covered in lush grass where his head rested. He pushed himself up on the ground into a sitting position. This was slightly painful and he couldn't figure out why. Nico looked at his hands and discovered six-seven blisters on both his hands. Some on his fingers and others on his palms. Some were bleeding and oozing.

Schist...where on earth did these come from? Nico thought to himself. He didn't remember getting those...or doing anything to get them. Pushing those thoughts aside, he stood up with great effort. Black spots started to appear in his vision. He felt like a ghost, light and weightless, like he wasn't even standing. He leaned against part of a fence to steady himself and make sure he didn't pass out, which was a real danger at this point.

Nico started to trudge forward on his tired and weak legs. He felt like he hadn't eaten or drank in days. But he couldn't remember. Had he really drank or eaten in the last few days?

This was troubling to the boy. He tried to think of something else, his birthday, where he lived, where he was, how he had gotten there. But alas, he remembered nothing. He decided that his first priority should be food and water. Walking, he passed many sunflowers, large, bright and yellow. He also noticed many plants that he did not recognize of many bright colours and different shapes and sizes.

Stealthily, a tall, slender woman with long, light-brown hair stepped into the aisle.

"Why hello there," she said in a sweet and warm tone. The boy spun around with such speed that he almost wept-out.

"How have you discovered my garden, stranger?" She asked. They stood in silence for a brief moment. Nico was studying her face, the soft yet pronounced features gave her a serene aura. But what else Nico noticed was that her mouth was drooping slightly and she seemed almost…sad. The woman was also studying the boy carefully in this moment. She noticed that his arms were bruised, that he appeared deathly pale and almost colourless and that most of all, he looked exhausted.

"I...I-I don't know," the boy managed to say, "I just woke up on the ground and…" His voice came out as a quiet melody, barely audible.

The woman stood calmly observing the boy for a minute more. On his belt he had a black sword. One that seemed to radiate darkness. She knew that metal, she had seen it before. It was stygian iron. A metal that was legendary at controlling the dead. But right now, this boy looked more like death than someone who was able to harness it. She decided that he needed her help.

"My name is Clytie, this is my garden," she started to explain, "you look pretty beaten up. How would you feel about me taking you to my house, feeding you, fixing you up and giving you a place to sleep for the night?"

Clytie. Nico vaguely recognized that name but he had no idea from where. He nodded, seeing that trusting this kind, compassionate woman could hold little danger and that it was probably his best chance of survival.

Clytie approached the child and slid her arm under his right and put his left over her shoulder. The difference in height caused some discomfort but nevertheless, Nico was thankful for at least some of the weight to be taken off his sore legs. The pair hobbled a few meters forward before reaching an opening in the translucent plastic greenhouse. The view that he was greeted with was absolutely breathtaking. About fifty meters away, there was the beautiful shore, the clear teal water reflecting so much light that it was almost blinding. To the west, there were two massive mountains both covered in greenery and life.

About ten meters away, there was a small home. The walls as whitish-yellow and as rough as the sand. Stepping inside, Nico observed that the house was small, but not uncomfortable. There were flowers and plants everywhere and the overall mood was bright. Clytie led Nico to a small room down a narrow hall. This room held only a bed, window and a small night table.

"You can lay right here and I'll get you some food," the woman said as she was gently laying the boy down on the bed. She disappeared from the room stealthily and down the hall. Nico layed there completely motionless, all of his energy depleted from his unknown adventure. He could see the setting sun through the open window. He also felt the calm warm breeze that was flowing through the thin curtains.

"Here you go," she said as she helped him into a sitting position and layed a platter in front of him. On this platter, there was a bowl of soup, a piece of bread and a glass of water. Nico started eating immediately, his hunger and instincts taking over completely. He was so focused on eating that he didn't even notice Clytie pulling up a chair beside the bed.

Nico swallowed his food and turned to her with a sheepish smile, "thank you so much for this food and all this hospitality."

"You're most welcome," she replied with a slight smile. "Now, hero, what is your name?"

Why had she called him hero? Nico did not know but with another swallow,

"Nico. Nico di Angelo," he said.

"My name is Clytie," she replied, "I live on this island but almost no one ever ends up here. So my question for you, boy, is how did you find this place?"

Once again, Nico had no idea. He tried to think but he couldn't, he just couldn't remember anything. Not where he lived, not where or when he was born. He realized, once again, that his memory had failed him.

Clytie could see the boy becoming visibly distressed. So, she stated calmly, "don't worry, it's okay," she soothed him.

"Here let me tell you a story, how does that sound?" she inquired.

Nico nodded very slightly and she took that as a yes.

Clytie was all alone on her island, she was tending to her garden making sure that all the flowers and plants remained nourished and alive. The calm breeze blew and soft sun shone, all was right in the world, at least her world.

A moment later, there was a terribly bright flash of light. She turned around and saw her lover. The beautiful, muscular man standing in front of her made her heart flutter and her breath catch.

"Helios," she barely manages to whisper, "I-I haven't seen you in so long, where were you?"

Without answering, Helios stepped closer and kissed her, their lips locking softly. His hands caressed her face and her hand were moving up and down his bank. The kiss was a long, passionate one.

When they finally broke apart, Helios took Clytie by the hand and led her over to a rock. They sat and Helios placed Clytie's hand in his lap in between his.

Helios started to explain why he hadn't seen her in so long. How he had been seeing another woman, Leucothoe. As he explained, Clytie could feel all of the warmth and happiness leave from her body. He kissed her on the cheek before disappearing into another flash of light.

Clytie never saw Helios again. She felt this heart break so deeply that she fell to her knees and started sobbing. Sobbing, she laid there for hours, watching the sun, her first and only love. When she finally stood up, she saw a small, yellow flower sprouting right there. She knelt down and studied the bloom. The petals were soft and yellow, the center large and full of seeds.

She named this flower a sunflower seeing that it faced the sun. With sorrow, she looked at the golden flower, leaving it there to grow.

Nico could barely believe what he was hearing. A story of such sadness and pain yet here was this woman, alive and well.

Nico still felt weak and he could barely keep his eyes open. Clytie took away the platter and helped him into a lying position.

She kissed his forehead and whispered, "goodnight, see you in the morning, anew." With that, she disappeared.

Nico fell asleep almost as soon as his eyes closed.

a/n: sorry if this was kind of short, ill try to write longer ones in the future. Until next time!


	2. Chapter 2: Faint Scars

a/n: Hey y'all, it's me again. I know the last chapter was rather short and slow-moving. Sorry for that but as I mentioned last time, I'm fairly new to this. This particular chapter will contain mentions of self-harm, and coarse language so, please do not read if any of these themes upset you.

Once again, I own nothing but the plot, all rights go to Rick Riordan.

Nico's p.o.v

The boy opened his eyes to the calm breeze and bright rising sun. Through the thin curtains, he could see the waves rolling upon the shore. He felt deeply calm. He felt at peace. At least until he remembered his predicament. The reality of the past day came crashing to him like a typhoon, the fact that he remembered nothing.

He decided to sit up, leaving the peaceful warmth of the blankets. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he pulled the curtains aside, breathing in the fresh air deeply. He decided to look at what was on his person to see if that might reveal something about him.

First of all, he had a rough, worn skull ring on his ring finger. He wondered if maybe he was goth. Next, he was wearing a long sleeve black shirt and black skinny jeans. So much black...he must definitely be goth. Nico had been feeling a strange ache in his arm since the previous day. He suspected that he must have a bruise or something minor. He peeled back his sleeve and he did in fact find a bruise. But what else he found greatly disturbed him.

 **(Mention of self harm starts here)**

What he found was a long column of scars. Some were thin, some thick, some looked red, others were white, some were very short while other reached almost all the way across his arm. He looked at his other arm and discovered almost the exact same thing. What more that he had found was, again, surprising to him.

Most of these scars looked self inflicted but there were many that appeared jagged, random and appeared to be from a fight. But from what fight? Nico never remembered fighting with anyone, not that he could really recall much else.

 **(Mention of self harm ends here)**

He turned to his right and leaning on the bed, right next to his black leather jacket, was a black sword. It seemed to to actually absorb the light around it. The boy picked it up cautiously but also in awe. The metal felt strong and heavy but also balanced. His fingers curled around it almost instinctively. Nico felt a strong connection to this sword, almost the same one he had felt with the ring, he just hadn't been able to describe it.

He heard a creak of a floorboard and completely on instinct, he held his sword in front of him and his knees slightly bent. Clytie entered the room and saw him in shock.

"Nico!" she screamed. His sword clattered to the ground. "What the hell are you doing in here?" she demanded.

"I was just looking for my stuff and then I saw this so I picked it up and then i heard you and then I just held it like it was an instinct," Nico explained shyly. A blush crept onto his cheeks. Clytie hadn't meant to seem cross, she was just caught by surprise by the boy seeming to be ready to attack her.

"Well," she started, "how about some breakfast?" The boy nodded and followed her out through the hall and into another room. This room was the kitchen. It was small and cozy, much like the rest of the house. The kitchen contained a stove, small oven, a few counters and a sink. There was a large window on one wall and many plants on the window sill.

Clytie led Nico over to a small wooden table that had a plate with a small omelette and a glass of juice. They both sat, and Nico picked up the strange micro-green off of his eggs and studied it carefully.

"I grew it in my garden," she explained, "it's micro-basil. Do you like it?"

The boy took the green in his mouth cautiously and chewed then swallowed. He decided after a moment that the taste fas fresh and not too soapy.

"I do like it," he explained, "it's quite good, and fresh." This comment put an immediate smile on the woman's face and he wa glad to see it appear. The way that her eyes brightened and shone when she smiled was truly beautiful and calming.

The rest of the meal was spent in silence, the two peacefully eating their eggs. Nico decided that he wanted to head outside and explore.

Clytie's p.o.v

She was worried about the boy. When he had arrived last night, he looked pretty beaten up and weak. He was skinny and pale. The woman worried for him. She also knew that he must be one of the offspring. And that he would soon have to leave her. This saddened her deeply because she would, once again be all alone, with nobody to cook for or to share meals with and the way that he had talked about her herbs, how he thought they were good.

She saw all the scars on the boy and, it worried her. She knew that many were simply from routine brushes with monsters but she also had a sinking suspicion that many were also self inflicted. She saw the pain and sadness in his gaunt eyes.

She didn't pity the boy but she felt for him.

The woman sat there for a while more simply pondering what was to happen to the boy and how she felt about him. Then, she decided that he'd probably be in soon and that she would start dinner.

Nico's p.o.v

He spent most of the day just prancing through the fields, observing the hills and peculiar species of plants that seemed to flourish there.

By the time he had returned to Clytie's domicile, he had one question weighing on his conscience. He found that dinner was ready and he headed to the kitchen.

When they sat down for dinner, there was a slight aura of tension. Nico chewed his food without paying much attention to it. After all this woman had done for him, how could he ask her to help him do this? After all the kindness and hospitality she had shown him, how could he betray her like this? These questions weighed on his mind and he decided to finally ask the question.

"Clytie?" he said cautiously

"Hmm?"

"You know, I just wanted to say that I'm so grateful for everything you've done for me in the short time that I've been here but… I think I need to leave. There's just this feeling inside of me that I really belong somewhere else."

Clytie looked slightly taken aback but also like she expected this.

"Well of course you do, you're a hero," she said, "You should go gather your stuff and I'll prepare you a bag for the trip. Then, we can go and see the cave, okay?"

Nico nodded and headed of to the bedroom after having finished most of his soup. His stuff was quite easy to pack as he only had his sword and jacket.

He looked out the window and took a moment to simply take in the view of the ocean. Although he had only been here a short day, he was definitely going to miss it. Miss it all, miss the landscape, miss Clytie and miss the ocean.

Clytie had also mentioned a cave. This vaguely worried Nico. He didn't even know why but for some reason he felt like he had had very bad experiences in caves...or at least underground. A knock came at the door, disturbing Nico from his thoughts.

"You ready to go?" She asked.

"Yep," he responded as he grabbed all of his stuff.

On their way out the door, Clytie handed Nico a small cloth bag with some strange golden liquid, some buttery looking squares, some snacks and a water bottle. Nico was secretly deeply grateful for this woman although he didn't really know her.

The journey across the island was a long one but, the island itself wasn't that long. The whole walk was spent in comfortable silence. When Clytie stopped walking, Nico looked and saw a large rock. Clytie has said that there was a cave but this didn't look much like one. She calmly stepped forward and moved the rock out of the way almost effortlessly and revealed a large opening in the earth.

Nico stood there in shock just peering into the darkness in front of him.

"So," she started, "all you'll need to do is step in there and then think of where you want to go."

Nico was just confused, plain confused. He didn't know where he needed to go, why, or how stepping into a mysterious cave would get him there. He started to walk forward but turned around just short of the cave and ran to Clytie and hugged the woman. He then resumed his mission to wherever-the-hell-he-needed-to-go.

Stepping into the cave with uncertainty, he looked at Clytie one last time and she waved at him. The thing is, she didn't look sad. Of course she wasn't happy that he was leaving because of course, he was her only company in a long time. But she was happy because she knew what was to come for Nico.

The rock sealed itself back in place and the boy was left in complete darkness. He almost started to panic. He took some slow, deep breaths to calm himself.

Then, suddenly, the ground seemed to open up under his feet and he was swallowed by the earth. His breath caught in his throat. Even though he knew that, logically, he was underground, he could still hear and feel wind rushing past him as he seemed to fall. Then, once again, he was on solid ground. He opened his eyes to a car coming right for him, the sound of the horn filling his ears. Nico managed to jump out of the way just in time, not really thinking.

He looked up and saw a tall building with many windows, the unmistakable empire state building. So he was in New York. He still didn't know what he was supposed to do here but he decided to see what it was like in New York. He felt like he may have been here before but still like he couldn't remember.

He walked around the city that never sleeps for about two hours before he found himself in central park. He walked around and observed the plants. He still felt kind of nostalgic thinking of plants and Clyde's garden. He felt bad for leaving her yet he knew that, for some reason, he had to.

That's exactly when a muscular boy with ink black hair and sea green eyes approached him.

"Hey," he said, "Nico, what's up man?"

Nico was caught completely off guard. He didn't know what to say or who this boy was.

"Umm," he started, awkwardly, "hey, pal. Just one question, how do I know you?"

"Seriously, you don't remember me?" Nico shook his head, "It's me, Percy. Percy Jackson."

Percy Jackson, that name had some relevance to him. But why. Nico was lost deep in thought trying to rack his memory for where he had met this boy before but he came up with nothing.

"Dude, are you okay?" Percy asked, "You look pale and tired as fuck."

"It's just that I can't remember anything," he replied.

"Oh, I know what that's like. Look, it's getting late, we should head back to camp."

Percy said he knew what it was like to lose your memory but Nico had no idea what he was talking about. He also had no idea what this "camp" that Percy was talking about was.

a/n: Hey again, sorry that was slow-moving again, I'm hoping to be able to get things going soon. Also, how would y'all feel about this switching between p.o.vs? Anyways, thanks so much for reading! See y'all soon.


	3. Chapter 3: Rest and Rehabilitation

a/n: Hey y'all, so I'm back for the third chapter. Sorry for not updating in so long, I've been in Ireland at a scout Jamboree for the past seventeen days and there has been very little if not no internet so, sorry. But, I'm back and better than ever. **_This chapter will include mentions of self-harm, depression, and coarse language so, please do not read this if any of these themes upset you._**

Once again, I own nothing but the plot, all rights go to Rick Riordan. Enjoy!

 **Will's p.o.v:**

Will was alone in the infirmary as it had been empty most of the day (thank the gods). He was now just taking inventory as he had to every week. The infirmary's most used supplies included gauze, tensor bandages, splints and medical tape. The past week had been rather uneventful so, the infirmary was, thankfully, well stocked. They still had 56 tensor bandages, 45 rolls of gauze, 6 wrist splints, 9 ankle splints and about a dozen rolls of medical tape.

"Will," it was Kayla, Will's sister, "there's a new camper here. Nico, Nico di Angelo. Percy brought him."

Will's heart skipped a beat in his chest-even though he knew that that wasn't medically possible because that was called and arrhythmia which is often fatal-at the thought of Nico. He had only met, well rather seen, the boy once. That was back when Nico was eleven. It's been four years or so, Nico must be fifteen now.

"Will!" Kayla seemed to have noticed that Will was completely lost in thought, "Are you coming or not?"

He put down his clipboard and pen and followed Kayla out the door and through the big house towards the hill. There, he was met by a small crowd of people at the base of the hill. Everyone was looking expectantly for the two Demigods to finally surmount the hill.

Alas, there he was, Nico di Angelo in all his glory. The boy was slouching beside Percy at the summit, clearly made uncomfortable by all the attention.

Will, with his keen eye and vast medical knowledge, noticed a few injuries that Nico had right away. His left shoulder was hanging a few centimetres lower that his right indicating that he either had a previous dislocation or that it was severely sprained. By the way that he was slouching, Will guessed that he had probably broken his 6 through 8 ribs were broken or at least bruised. He was also putting slightly less weight on his right ankle which pointed to a breached tendon or a non-displaced fracture.

During this time that Will had spent awkwardly examining Nico, he and Percy had made their way over to the big house just as Chiron showed up. Almost all of the crowd dispersed immediately.

Will decided that he needed to return to the big house. Partly because he needed to finish taking inventory. And also partly because (although he'd never admit it to himself) he knew that he would get another chance to see Nico.

He walked swiftly back towards the big-house and into the infirmary all while keeping an inconspicuous distance between him and Chiron, Percy and Nico.

Will watched the group enter the main room and he walked past and into the infirmary. Will's heart fell slightly as he passed them because Nico didn't even notice him. He felt hurt. But he was also mad at himself for making such a big deal out of nothing.

When he got back to the counter he had his clipboard on, he made sure no one was around and pulled back his sleeve and moved his bracelets to reveal a long line of cuts going down his forearm. He remembered how angry he was last night when he had made those and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that anger again and pulled out a blade.

He thought of his feelings for Nico, how he hated himself for being the way he was, he thought about his mother, he thought about all the nights he had spent crying silently in his cabin with no one knowing. And with all those thoughts, he put the blade on his skin and cut.

Once he was done, he looked at his wrist and saw that more and more blood seemed to be coming from one of the particularly deep cuts every time his heart pumped.

"Shit," he whispered to himself, "an arterial bleed."

He knew that this could be bad and that it might end in him having to seek medical attention himself. Although, he also knew how to stop the bleeding and avert the possible crisis. He grabbed a sheet of skin closure strips, and then a roll of gauze. He put two skin closure strips on his arm to make the two sides of the skin touch. He then started to wrap it with gauze. After, he decided to put a tensor bandage on his hand so that he wouldn't have to explain the gauze. Before, the cuts had been easy enough to hide but now with that huge one, he was going to need a legitimate excuse.

He then went back to his work, finishing his inventory: 55 tensor bandages, 44 rolls of gauze, 6 wrist splints, 9 ankle splints and a dozen rolls of medical tape.

Then, he exited the infirmary and went to where he thought Chiron was to submit his inventory. He knocked on the door and almost immediately, Chiron came rolling to the door in his chair. He opened the door. In front of Will was Chiron, the man that he had come to see, sitting in his chair. But what or rather who Will was really looking at was Nico, who was standing a few meters behind Chiron.

"Will," Chiron stated calmly, " have you finished your inventory yet?"

"Uhh," Will seemed to need a moment to snap out of his daze, "yeah, here you go."

He handed Chiron his clipboard and he took a brief moment to look it over before dismissing Will and closing the door.

Will felt sad that he had not gotten to see Nico for longer. Was that weird? He also felt pain, a lot of pain in his wrist but he elected to ignore it as it had been self-inflicted.

Seeing as he had no other option, he went and joined the rest of his cabin in their activity. It was archery which, he will admit, he was never really good at.

 **Nico's p.o.v**

Nico had been talking to Chiron about how he had gotten to camp half-blood. He told him of Clytie, the cave, central park and then the ride with Percy. He also told Chiron of the skull ring and sword of darkness. And he explained that he remembered nothing except the past two days.

"Now Nico," Chiron started off calmly, "this may come as a surprise to you but, you're the son of Hades, god of the underworld."

This didn't shock Nico in the slightest, instead, it sent him into one hell of a flashback.

 _Nico was playing with a girl with long, sleek black hair in a hotel lobby._

" _Bianca," he called out to her, "dammi il giocattolo per favore."_

 _The girl passed a small wooden toy car to him and he started to run it along the carpet._

 _He turned around and saw a woman with long, sleek black hair who looked just like him sitting next to a stern looking man with a black suit sitting on a bench. The man's suit seemed to be a texture close to velvet but it almost seemed to be swimming with what appeared to be faces. The man had a long angular face and appeared to be discussing something anxiously, the pair whispering between each other in hushed voices._

 _Suddenly, the chirality of the room seemed to change. The air became almost uncomfortably and unnaturally warm. Nico's hair started to stand on end. In a split second, he saw his father sun over to him and his sister and grabbed them both as if to shield them from something._

 _After a moment and a bright flash of light, Nico opened his eyes and saw the hotel lobby burning and just in ruins. A second later, he and his sister were in another hotel, in the arcade. Never to see the man again._

"Nico," Chiron placed his hand on the boy's shoulder, "are you okay?"

A single tear rolled down the boy's cheek but he brushed it away with his hand as soon as he had noticed it.

"Yeah, no, I'm fine," Nico lied, "don't worry about it."

Chiron knew that he was anything but okay but decided to let the matter drop.

"Here, I'll get Percy to show you to your cabin. Alright?" Chiron asked.

Nico nodded and followed the director out the door, and onto the porch. In the yard, they met Percy, the same dark-haired green-eyed boy as before. Nico still felt the same attraction to him. But it wasn't romantic or platonic, it was a mix of both and it was just plain weird.

They walked across the field to the cabins which were all arranged in a U shape. Nico looked at all of the twelve cabins and for some reason he knew which god or goddess to which each one was devoted to. The first was to Zeus, then Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Ares, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Hephaestus, Hermes, and Dionysus. Next to this first U, there was another beside it made up of the other eight cabins. These were: Hades, Iris, Hypnos, Nemesis, Nike, Hebe, Tyche, and Hecate.

The Hades cabin was dark and reeked of death. The whole thing was black and seemed to suck in all the light around it. For a reason that Nico couldn't understand, he saw this as comforting.

He walked up the steps and hesitated for a split second as his hand rested on the handle. After a moment of contemplation, he headed inside and slammed the door on the rest of the world. He took the bag off his back and threw it across the dark room, hearing it slamming into something. Nico put his back to the wall just as his knees gave out. He sat against the wall with his knees up to his chest as he began to cry.

That flashback. He didn't even understand it or at least most of it. What he did know is that those two people were his mother and his father and that the little girl, Bianca, must have been his sister. What else he knew is that that was how his mother had died, or rather been killed because he knew that that strike of lightning had been no accident.

But what he didn't understand is the hotel that he had been left at after. He seemed to remember spending time there that seemed like so long yet so short.

Nico knew of only one thing that would make him feel better. He walked across the poorly lit room and reached for a drawer. When he opened it, he found a small bottle. He took it in his hand and flicked off the cap. Nico then drained it in a matter of seconds.

Nico then collapsed on the bed. He spent a few moments just thinking as he faded out of consciousness.

a/n: Sorry y'all for a kind of short and less eventful chapter. I'm just getting over my jetlag and some sickness so please forgive me if my writing is kind of whack. Anyways, see y'all soon!


	4. Chapter 4: ST-EMI

a/n: Hey guys, I'm back again with another chapter. This chapter will be quite fast paced and will deal with _**near death and other heavy topics such as self harm so please do not read if these themes upset you.**_

I own nothing but the plot, all rights go to Uncle Rick.

 **Will's p.o.v:**

Nico had been at the camp for the past six days and almost no one had seen the boy at all. The only time he had left his cabin was when he went to go and eat at the pavillion every other day or so. This worried Will, Nico was only eating or drinking anything-as far as he knew-every forty-eight hours or so. Will knew that this wasn't healthy, even for a perfectly healthy individual, which Will knew Nico was far from being.

Will not only wanted to see the boy eat because he was worried about him but also because he hadn't had more than a glance at him every few days in almost a week. He wanted to look at the boy, just lay his eyes on him and let them rest there.

 _Ew._ Will thought to himself _That's so fucking creepy._ He shook his head like an etch-a-sketch trying to erase that thought.

After lunch, Will headed over to the arena for his training session with the rest of his cabin. He still had the tensor bandage around his wrist when he had cut earlier. Not-so-strangely, everyone had believed his story about spraining his wrist and no one else in his cabin had offered to look at it. Will guessed that maybe people only noticed if they cared.

Most of the afternoon went by without incident until Will's pager started ringing on his belt. Whenever he left the infirmary, Will always carried his pager with him, almost as if he was a real doctor. He looked at it briefly and saw that it read code blue and the amphitheatre. This meant a major medical emergency.

Will's instinct kicked in and sprinted all the way from where he was to the ampitheatre. When he arrived, he was barely out of breath, having run high on adrenaline.

Right there on the floor was a long, skinny, dark-haired, pale person who was clearly unconscious. He dropped onto his knees, kneeled over Nico and checked for breathing. Five seconds later, Will's suspicions had been confirmed, Nico was currently in cardiac arrest.

Will turned to austin and yelled at him to get a first aid kit, stretcher, AED and tell Chiron to get a bed ready, a private room. He then immediately landmarked and started his compressions.

1...2...3...4…..30. By the time he had finished his first set of compressions, Austin had returned with the first-aid kit, which Will immediately took from him and ripped out the pocket mask and placed it on Nico's face. He tilted Nico's head back, opened his mouth and blew in a full breath. He then removed the mask to see if it had gone in. Will didn't feel the breath come back and hit him in the face so, he knew that it had gone in. He then gave another breath and returned to compressions.

After two more rounds, he decided it was time to attach the AED. He had to cut off Nico's shirt and attach both of the pads. Almost as soon as he plugged the pads into the device, it started to read for a heart rhythm. This meant that Will had to momentarily step away from Nico. _Reading...Reading...Reading. No heart rhythm found. Charging. Shock delivered._

Will then started another round of compressions. At this point, Will was getting worried, if Nico didn't regain consciousness soon, chances were that he never would. But nevertheless, Will refused to give up. He kept on doing his best and trying to save the boy's life. Under his interlocked hands, Will could feel some of Nico's ribs cracking and popping. Will always hated this sensation but again, life over limb.

Just as Will had finished his compressions, Nico took what was probably the deepest inhale of his life and sat up. Almost immediately after, he layed back down looking extremely pale and light-headed.

"Nico," Will placed his hand on the boy's shoulder, "can you tell me where you are?"

"At camp," he mumbled.

"Okay," Will continued, "what year is it and can you tell me how you got here?"

"I think Percy brought me and its 20...18?" he guessed.

Will was satisfied with his answer and had Austin bring over the stretcher.

"Okay, so, Nico, we're going to move you onto the stretcher and take you back to the infirmary."

Nico seemed like he didn't want to go but nonetheless, he didn't resist. The two boys rolled Nico onto the stretcher and carried him over to the infirmary.

As they entered, Chiron met them in one of the three private rooms the infirmary had. Will suspected that Nico would prefer the privacy that this space offered. They moved him onto the bed, removed the AED pads and Will placed two heart monitor stickers on Nico's chest and attached him to the machine. A steady beeping started to fill the background. Will ordered Austin to go get Kayla and bring her back to the infirmary.

Soon after Kayla arrived, Chiron had to leave and the pair inserted an IV into Nico's hand. As if on cue, a camper, Miranda came hobbling in on a possibly broken ankle. Kayla had to leave to attend to this newest injury and left Nico and Will alone.

Will pulled out a pair of gloves, blew into them and put them on. He grabbed a diabetes kit and turned back to Nico.

"Now, Nico, I'm going to ask you some questions and you have to answer truthfully," Will stated.

Nico nodded and Will continued.

"When was the last time you ate?"

The question hang in the air for a moment as Nico thought back to when he had last actually eaten.

"About 48 hours ago," he finally answered.

Will had already known this but was still at least a bit shocked.

"Okay. I'm going to take your blood sugar, then, if that's okay," Will stated.

Nico nodded and Will started to set up the glucometer and set up the needle.

That's when the alarm on the HR monitor started to beep. Will looked at Nico and he was hyperventilating, his heart rate had risen above the threshold. Will knew that if he didn't act fast, Nico would probably have a full blown panic attack and most likely pass out again which, would not be good.

Will placed Nico's hand in-between the two of his and held it tightly.

"Nico," Will said, "Nico, look at me please," the boy faced him and made eye contact which made Will's heart flutter.

"Breathe in, hold it and breathe out," Will started to say slowly and soothingly.

When Nico's heart rate and breathing had finally returned to a baseline rate. Will took the pen and pricked Nico's finger. He squeezed his finger slightly and as soon as he had enough blood for a reading, he brought the glucometre to the blood. Immediately after, Will placed a bandage on Nico's finger and placed his hand back on the bed.

Will waited expectantly for a minute for a reading to come back. The machine read 2.1. That was very low. So, Will pulled a bag of skittles out of his pocket and put then in his hand.

"Here, eat these. They'll raise your blood glucose." Will said as he placed the candy in the shaky boy's hand.

Will then watched as he ate the candy one piece at a time, chewing each one thoughtfully.

"I think it'd be best if you got some rest," Will said once the boy had swallowed the last of the sweets.

Nico nodded and layed down almost immediately. Within a matter of minutes, Nico was in a deep sleep.

This was when Will let his true feeling finally show. He looked at the boy laying in the bed who seemed to be sleeping so peacefully. He couldn't believe the scars that he had seen on Nico's ribs, stomach, shoulders and arms. He knew that demigods were often implicated in combat and that they often had many scars but Will also knew that these were from no external monster. If anything, they reminded him of the ones he had on his own wrist. He couldn't believe that Nico had done that to himself. It saddened him deeply.

WIth that thought, Will started to cry and he, once again, took a blade and layed it to his skin, the only thing that would dull his pain.

a/n: sorry that this one's pretty short too. I'm thinking of writing shorter chapter and more of them. What would y'all think of that? Anyways, thanks again for reading and see y'all next time!


	5. Chapter 5: Snap Crakle Pop

a/n: Holy COW(aka Hera)! Five chapters already! Man, I can't believe it's already gone by that quickly. Anyways, as always _**this chapter will include mentions of self harm, internalized homophobia, depression, anxiety and death. If any of these themes may upset you, do not read this.**_

 _ **Mentions of self-harm will be present throughout this chapter and likely the rest of the story. I invite you to not read this if this will upset you in any way shape or form.**_

Of course, all rights go to sweet old Uncle Rick.

 **Nico's p.o.v:**

He opened his eyes to a dimly lit room with plain white walls. He was in a bed with plain white sheets and he had a strange tube coming out of his hand and some wires and stickers attached to his chest. He didn't know what any of this was and he didn't know why he was there. He looked at the clock and saw that it read 6:07am. He felt somewhat rested but he still didn't know when he had fallen asleep or where he was.

The last thing that he noticed was a head of blond hair lying on the bed at his knees. The arm attached to this head was grasping Nico's hand. His hands were warm and Nico had always had people comment on how his hands were cold. The sad part was that he couldn't remember anyone every holding his hand. The more he thought about this boy holding his hand and staying with him all night, his heart fluttered.

Wait...He remembered this boy. He was the boy who worked in the infirmary he had seen on the first day he was here when he was talking to Chiron. This made Nico's heart drop. This boy just worked here, he didn't go out of his way for Nico, he was probably like this with all his patients. Nico then reprimanded himself for caring so much about something so small. He felt stupid and he hated how he did things like this all the time.

Nico felt this really deeply and started to cry. He involuntarily moved his hand from Will's to wipe the tears from his face. This startled Will and awoke him from his sleep.

"Nico," Will started calmly, "how are you feeling? Did you sleep well?"

"Okay, I'm feeling okay. I slept well," Nico lied.

The truth was that the boy was feeling extremely anxious. He felt sick and he knew that he might vomit. Not only that but his stomach hurt badly and his ribcage ached. He was finding it somewhat hard to breathe and his shoulder felt like it might fall off. In all honestly, Nico had been feeling like this almost the whole time he had been at the camp but with his exhaustion and hunger had somewhat helped him forget about it.

"Well," Will started awkwardly, "I'm going to have to examine the rest of your body to see if you have any other injuries, okay?"

Nico didn't know how he was going to feel about this but, he nodded anyways.

"I'm going to need you to remove everything except for your boxers. I'm going to step out into the hall and I'll knock in a few minutes when I'll come in."

Nico nodded again and Will stepped out, just as he had said. Nico started to peel off his pants as already had no shirt. He thought for a moment about Will taking off his shirt and his face got hot. Almost as soon as he had finished removing his pants and socks, which he found to be a very painful process, Will knocked on the door. He waited a minute as a courtesy and then he entered. Will walked over to the counter and blew into another pair of gloves and put them on.

"First, I'm going to need you to stand against that wall and reach your arms out in front of you, please," Will said

Nico did exactly that but, it hurt him very badly in his left shoulder to even extend it slightly.

Will took note of this.

"Nico," Nico's heart fluttered, "I'm going to need t see if any of your ribs are broken or bruised. Is that okay?"

"Yeah sure," he whispered.

Nico took a step away from the wall as Will began to slide his hands down Nico's sides placing light pressure on and in-between every rib. When Will got to the sixth rib on Nico's right side, he winced loudly. As Will moved down to the seventh and eighth, Nico started to see black spots dancing in his vision and he felt like he was going to pass out. And that's exactly what he almost did.

Nico's body began to go limp, his legs giving out. He would have hit the floor if Will hadn't caught him. With both his arms under Nico's, Will lifted the boy over to the bed. Since Nico was so light and Will was taller than him, this proved to be an easy enough task.

As soon as Nico was back in the bed and laying down, he seemed to regain colour and consciousness immediately.

"I'm so sorry that happened," Will started shyly, "I didn't mean to put you in that much pain, I just needed to see if your ribs were broken or bruised."

Nico could tell by the tone of his voice that Will was close to crying and even saw tears start to gather in his eyes. Nico had no clue what to say. He wasn't sure what he should say and whether it would make the situation better or worse. So, instead, he stayed silent as he had so many times before.

"Anyways, I'm going to check your ankles and knees now."

Will asked Nico to bend his knee as much as he could and bring it as close to him as possible. Both of Nico's knees appeared to be absolutely fine. But, when Will started to check his range of motion in his ankles, that's when things started to go wrong again. When Will pushed on his right ankle, Nico winced but not nearly as much as he had with his ribs.

Will took a moment to think and then started to explain,

"Okay, so, it appears to me that you have a dislocated shoulder, three severely bruised ribs and a minor sprain in your ankle."

Nico was slightly surprised by this news but he wasn't exactly shocked.

"So basically, I'm going to have to relocate your shoulder, wrap your ankle and ice your ribs. Are you okay with that?"

"Yeah," Nico said, "just please tell me it won't be painful."

"Okay, so' to be honest, this is probably going to hurt a lot before it helps. First, we're going to start with your shoulder. So, I'm going to need you to lay flat on your back and bend your elbow so it's at ninety degrees and then I'm going to pull on your wrist and elbow until it pops back into place."

Nico was slightly overwhelmed by all the things that seemed to be happening at once, but, he just nodded and moved into the position that Will had requested. Nico then waited in anticipation as Will grasped his wrist and elbow. He then started to pull, just as he had described. During this minute, Nico experienced the worst physical pain in his life. As promised, he felt a pop and almost immediately, the pain turned from a sharp stab to a dull ache.

"Does that feel better?" Will asked

"So much better, thank you," Nico responded

"Now, I'm going to put your arm in a sling and put some ice on it."

Will walked back over to the counter and got a large triangle bandage and an instant ice pack as well as some paper-towels. During this time, Nico moved back up so he was sitting.

Will came back over an unfolded the triangle bandage. He placed Nico's arm in it so the point was sitting at his elbow and tied the other pieces together over his shoulder. He then pressed on the pack inside the ice pack until it burst and shook it vigorously until it became cold. He then wrapped it in the paper towel and placed it in the sling right on Nico's shoulder.

Nico's arm felt unimaginably better. Now that Will had put it in a sling, it felt better, there was less pain and for once, he felt comfortable with the way that it was placed. The ice also worked wonders.

As Nico was just sitting there, thinking about how grateful he was for Will at this moment, Will took out some more ice-packs, activated them, wrapped them and placed them on Nico's ribs. Since Nico had no way of holding the ice packs and he was already down an arm, Will took some pro wrap and secured the ice to his chest very loosely and so the boy could still breathe.

Then, Will worked his way down to Nico's ankle. The whole time that Will was helping him, Nico was just staring at his beautiful head of blond hair, his crystal, deep blue eyes and his sun-kissed cheeks. Nico suddenly envied the sun.

When Will was done wrapping Nico's ankle, he looked up and met Nico's eyes. There was a moment of connection shared between the two. Nico was the first one to break eye contact.

"So, uhh, I'm assuming you'd like some help putting your pants on?"

"Yes, please," Nico replied.

Will delivered, within probably a minute, the pair had successfully managed to pull the boy's pants on all while he was still in a lying position.

"I'm going to go get you some food okay?"

Nico nodded and Will left the room. Nico thought how he felt for the boy. He thought about how gentle and forgiving he was with him and how he had been hurt to see him in so much pain and it made Nico just want to jump up and down.

But soon after this moment of joy had passed, Nico felt disgusted with himself. He couldn't believe he had lead himself up with all these fantasies in his head, with another man no less. He hated himself for it and he pushed down all those feelings as far as they would go.

 _ **Will's p.o.v**_

He walked across the fields from the big house to the dining pavilion. Will sat down at the Apollo table and waited for his plate to be filled. Will thought about Nico. He thought about all those scars he had seen on his thighs. He had seen the other ones previously but, the number and depth of them was completely negligible compared to those on his thighs and hips. Will was angry. He was angry at Nico for not taking care of himself and having himself wind up in the infirmary. But, he also felt bad for Nico. He didn't really know what Nico was going through but he knew that he was felt alone in this world. Will promised himself that he would change that.

"Will!" Kayla waved her hands in front of his face, "earth to Will!"

He snapped out of his daze almost immediately.

"Yeah yeah, I'm here."

"How's Nico doing?" Kayla asked.

"He's doing...better," Will said, "it turns out he has a sprained ankle, three bruised ribs and a dislocated shoulder. I wrapped his ankle, relocated his shoulder and have it in a sling and his ribs are being iced at the moment."

As soon as Will had finished explaining, his plate was filled with food. He took this opportunity to take his plate and leave. He was already up and out of his seat, walking away when he heard Kayla yell.

"Will," Kayla yelled after him, "where are you going? Aren't you going to eat?"

"No, I'm going to the infirmary. This is for Nico."

Kayla looked like she wanted to say something else but, Will just walked away and left her.

As Will entered the infirmary, he walked to the back where Nico was and knocked on the door. He then entered and found Nico in the exact same position as he had been before. The boy had literally not moved. The only thing that had changed was his mood. Will could almost feel the tension in the room. Nico now seemed frustrated, almost angry. Will couldn't figure out why and couldn't even begin to guess why.

"I brought you some food," Will said with a sheepish smile.

He brought out a platter, placed the plate on it as well as the glass of water and put it on Nico's lap.

"Now Nico," Will said in an authoritarian tone, "I'm going to need you to eat at least half of what's on that plate if I'm going to be able to give you any ambrosia. So, eat up"

With that, Will sat down in the chair beside his bed and just watched Nico. He seemed to want to resist Will and not eat but nonetheless, Will could tell he was hungry. He ate in silence until, as promised, he had finished half of the plate.

Will got up and moved the platter from Nico's lap onto the counter. He then opened a cabinet and took out a small square of ambrosia and gave it to Nico. He ate it.

"That ambrosia will help all of your injuries heal pretty quickly. By the end of today, you should be able to leave the infirmary. But until then, you should try and get some more rest. Also, do you want a hoodie to wear, it gets pretty cold in here?"

Nico nodded an Will went and got his favourite hoodie from out in the main ward. He replaced the ice packs on Nico's ribs and shoulder and helped him get his hoodie on. Will then dimmed the lights and closed the door, leaving Nico to rest.

a/n: Thanks so much for reading. But first, a quick few warnings. _**Do not ever bind with pro wrap or KT tape. While I looked it up and saw that it may be safe, it is only safe if done perfectly so please do not try it. As well, I am trained in first aid and the technique used to relocate Nico's shoulder is only meant to be used in emergency situations where the victim will have to wait twelve hours or more to receive medical attention. Professional help is always better and carries less risks. Please do not try this technique at home or when it is not necessary.**_


	6. Chapter 6: Undisclosed Importance

a/n: Hey everyone. I'm back with another chapter although, BTW, this chapter will likely be mostly a filler chapter and will tie into the rest of the narrative but, this will likely have to do with Nico.

As usual, _**this chapter will contain mentions of self-harm, depression, anxiety, trauma and internalized homophobia. So, please do not read if any of these themes will upset you in any way.**_

I own nothing but the plot, all rights go to uncle Rick!

 **Nico's p.o.v**

Nico opened his eyes and was again greeted with the same white room and bed. He was comfortable and he felt a hundred times better than he could ever remember feeling. He felt full and warm and...safe. He didn't know why. He guessed he felt comfortable because Will had taken care of all of his injuries, full because he ate and safe because of him.

 _No, no, Jesus, you can't be like this. Fuck, I hate feeling like this._ Nico became completely absorbed in himself, berading himself for having feelings for Will, another man. It was absolutely disgusting and he couldn't help but feel that way about it even if he felt it was okay for other people.

At this opportune moment, there was a soft knock on the door. A second later, the door opened and the bright face of Will Solace came into the room. Nico's heart stood still for a split second as he just marveled at the other boy's face.

"Hi, Nico. Glad to see you're awake. How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling pretty good," Nico replied honestly.

"Good, I'm glad to hear. I'm just going to take your vitals one last time and examine your injuries and if everything looks good, you'll be free to go. Is that okay with you?"

Nico nodded. He started thinking about how glad Will must be for him to leave, thinking that Will would probably be glad to never have to see him again. This hurt Nico but he also just pushed these feelings down, trying to just ignore them and forget about it.

Will put on a pair of gloves and started to unwrap Nico's ankle. Will ran through the same thing he had earlier with Nico. He applied pressure on his ankle, asked him to push against his hand, moving his ankle around and asked him if anything hurt and none of it did.

Will them moved onto Nico's shoulder and ribs. Everything checked out, all of Nico's injuries seemed to be fine. Will then took Nico's blood pressure and heart rate. Both came back as normal.

The whole time that Will was checking out his injuries, Nico was gazing upon him. His beautiful features and how focused he was on his work and how gentle his hands were. He was a perfect doctor, he had compassion for his patients, he was kind and he was honestly...amazing.

Will looked up at Nico and met his gaze. No sooner than their eyes met, Nico looked away awkwardly, a blush creeping up on his cheeks.

Will cleared his throat as he pulled his gloves off.

"Well, it looks like you're good to go. But, please be gentle on yourself, your ankle isn't fully healed yet but it'll be better in a few days."

Will took off the blood pressure cuff, blood oxygen monitor, and heart monitor stickers from his chest. Nico then put on a plain black t-shirt that Will had given him. He was then ready to leave.

"Will," Nico started shyly, "thanks for taking care of me and having saved my life… I really appreciate it. Also, here's your hoodie," Nico finished as he handed Will his hoodie back.

"You're welcome, it was my pleasure. You can keep the hoodie," Will replied

Will smiled with not only his lips but also his eyes. It was a genuine smile and it warmed Nico's heart.

"Now, it's almost dinner time so, you should head over to the dining pavilion and get some food."

Nico nodded, smiled and walked out of the room, through the infirmary, the big house and over to the dining pavilion.

As Nico walked into the pavillion and over to the Hades table, his breath caught in his throat. At least five people had their eyes on him at a time. Nico's hands started to shake, he couldn't breathe, his legs barely worked but, he knew that he couldn't run, he couldn't make a scene and draw any attention to himself. He just kept on walking. He then found his table and sat down.

There was another person who was already sitting at his table. It was Percy. Nico almost immediately felt a bit better about this whole situation.

"Hey man," Percy said.

"Hi," Nico responded awkwardly.

"If you don't mind my asking, what happened? Everyone's been asking about what was going on with you and I was really worried to be honest."

Nico took a moment to consider this. He couldn't honestly see anyone caring about him, he was just a useless, un-important nobody. But nevertheless, he started talking to Percy about what had happened to him.

Instead of just telling him about being rushed into the infirmary and his experience with Will, he started with the island. He told him about not remembering anything, about Clytie, and about Clytie and Helios, about the cave, about finding himself in Manhattan, arriving at camp, staying in his cabin and then walking over to the amphitheatre and then just blacking out. Nico left out the part about the dream he had had when he was unconscious and who he had ended up talking to.

Nico then started explaining to Percy about his ankle being sprained, his bruised ribs and dislocated shoulder. When he was done, his plate was full of food.

"Well shit, man, that's….wild." Percy was left completely speechless, he didn't know what to say.

Nico suddenly felt embarrassed. He felt bad about having suddenly dumped all of this on Percy.

"Do you really not remember anything?" Percy asked.

Nico shook his head.

"No, I really don't remember anything besides what's happened in the past few days and my name. To be honest, I don't even know what my birthday is."

Percy took a moment and seemed to be deep in thought and deeply concentrated.

"Well, I'll tell you everything that I know that has happened in your life. But, it's really quite...traumatic at some parts at least. And, it's pretty long so, it might have to be over a few days. At least if you want me to."

The boy couldn't believe what he was hearing. He knew that he had some connection to Percy and to find out that Percy was somehow intertwined in a large part of his life story.

But, as much as Nico was excited by this prospect of finally knowing about his life, something that Percy had said had bothered him. Percy had said it was somewhat "traumatic". This worried Nico in addition to the fact that he hadn't seen or even heard anything about this Bianca girl who he assumed was his sister.

"I...I-I'll have to think about it," Nico said uncertainly.

"That's okay, I'll be here all week," Percy said with an easy-going smile.

Nico giggled a bit at this statement and began to eat. His plate was filled with a large piece of warm, cheesy lasagna and some salad. Nico suddenly realized that he was absolutely starving.

The two enjoyed the rest of their meal with a side light-hearted conversation and laughter.

 **Will's p.o.v (about half an hour earlier)**

"Now, it's almost dinner time so, you should head over to the dining pavilion and get some food," Will said to Nico just before he left the infirmary.

Will was going to miss Nico. The room just felt empty without him there. With that thought, Will began to strip the bed of its sheets so they could be washed. When he was done, he put away the blood pressure cuffs, threw out the ice packs, reset the heart monitor and threw away all the stickers and garbage on the counter.

He then sat on the bare mattress and just sat there emotionless.

Will thought about what he had thought about that morning, how mad he had been that Nico wasn't taking care of himself. Will promised himself that he would make sure that Nico took care of himself or take care of him if he couldn't.

Will saw that the infirmary was empty and that Kayla had the shift tonight so, he decided to head back to his cabin and sleep. As much as Will didn't want to and would never admit it, he was beat.

When he arrived in his cabin, he laid down in his bunk and thought he would fall asleep almost immediately but alas, he didn't.

The dark haired and eyed boy was still on his mind. He thought back to how Nico had been acting when he had come back into the room with his breakfast. Nico looked angry, frustrated almost appalled.

Will immediately started to panic. Maybe Nico had thought that Will had been to physical with him and knew that Will had feelings for him. What if he thought that Will was horrible or disgusting? Will hated this. He was angry for how he had acted. He knew that he had made Nico uncomfortable and he hated himself for it. And he especially hated himself for the fact that Nico was so important to him but he wasn't even important to Nico.

With that, Will fell into a deep sleep.

a/n: Thanks so much for reading. This chapter was kind of boring so sorry for that but get ready, the next chapter is going to be a roller-coaster. See y'all soon!


	7. Chapter 7: Dreamscape Escape

a/n: Hey everyone, welcome back. I'm hoping to be able to update even more frequently now since, I'll be mostly not busy for the next week and a half and then, sadly, school will start again for me.

As per usual, _**this chapter will contain mentions of abuse(verbal/emotional and physical) , internalized homophobia, self-harm, alcoholism, coarse language, and anxiety as well as PTSD. These themes will be present throughout the rest of the story, so if this tends to upset you, this is probably not the fanfic for you.**_

 _ **This particular chapter will also contain some spoilers as to events in the PJO series.**_

I only own the plot, all other rights go to Rick Riordan.

 **Will's p.o.v**

 _He sprinted up the staircase and down the hall. He knew she was just behind him, the smell of alcohol almost tangible. Out of breath, his heart pounding, he slammed his door shut and locked it as quickly as he could. He ran to his bed and curled up in a ball under the covers._

" _WILLIAM!" she screeched as she pounded furiously on the door._

 _Will pulled himself into a tighter ball and further under his blanket in an effort to protect himself as she continue to pound and howl. Her screams were deafening. He was too scared to cry, to move, to speak, to breathe. He was completely paralyzed with terror._

 _Will's breathing started to get faster and faster until it just stopped, he couldn't breathe. He couldn't take this anymore. He knew he had to get out, to run, but he just couldn't._

 _Suddenly, his vision started to dance with black spots and he lost consciousness._

He awoke in a cold sweat, his heart racing. He sat up in bed and silently pulled on his shoes and left his cabin. The moon shone bright in the misty, dark sky. The grass he walked through was dewy, causing his toes to become cold and wet.

Will made his way over to the beach and sat on the shore. He just watched the serene waves hitting the shore gracefully for a moment. He tried to calm his breathing, matching it to the rhythm of the lapsing water.

He never knew why he always remembered that particular scene. It wasn't the worst he had ever experienced. Infact, as sad as it was to think, this event had been the only one of his childhood where he couldn't remember a beating.

The sadder part was that Will hadn't had this dream before three nights ago. Will had gone almost two months without having this nightmare.

He hated not being able to have a night of uninterrupted sleep. He hated opening a bottle of isopropyl alcohol or an alcohol swab and instantly being reminded of his alcoholic mother. He especially hated that everytime he showered or took off his shirt that he was forced to see the scars that riddled his abdomen and shoulders. He could remember the motive behind each and everyone whether they were self-inflicted or otherwise.

But most of all, Will hated himself and everything about him. He had always felt like maybe if he was a better son than maybe his mother wouldn't be like that.

Will just sat on the shore with his knees tucked up to his chest, crying until his stomach hurt and his eyes burnt from so many tears. He felt he was going to vomit from dehydration and contraction.

The sun started to rise and so Will decided to head over to the infirmary. He rose from his spot on the beach unsteadily and started to walk over to the big house.

As he entered the main ward, he accidentally let the door slam behind him. This startled Will so much that he tripped and fell flat on his face. The wind was knocked out of him and he was immediately launched into another flashback.

 _He was standing inside a closet. His breath was swift and his heart was racing. He could hear her kicking on his door. He scrambled to hide behind the few clothes he had. That's when the door finally gave in, slamming on the floor._

 _He heard his mother stomping around his room._

" _Where are you you little shit?" he could hear her tear the sheets off his bed._

 _Will's breath caught in his throat as she approached his hiding place...she opened the door to find a cowering boy._

" _There you are, you cunt," she said, stumbling over her words. The frozen boy looked up at the woman in front of him just as she grabbed him by the neck._

"Will," kayla said as she shook his shoulders, "wake up!"

Kayla had him leaning up against a wall. When his eyes finally focused, Will could see the concerned look on her face.

It took him a moment to realize where he was. He was in the infirmary. And Kayla was there. But why?

 _Fuck..._ he had forgotten that Kayla was put on the night shift. Gods he was dumb. Now he had gone and had a panic attack infront of her. He knew that she wouldn't let this go until she knew everything.

You see, the only person at camp who knew about his mother was Chiron. But, even he didn't know the full extent of the situation.

And although Will's mom was in therapy and rehab, she had recently relapsed pretty badly since the last time he had seen her.

"Will," Kayla pulled him from his thoughts, "what happened? Are you okay?"

"I-I'm not sure exactly what happened but yeah, I think I'm okay," Will lied.

He was just about as far from 'okay' as he had ever been in his life. And Kayla knew that. She also knew that Will had had a panic attack and that he knew that. Will was a great liar and was very good at hiding things but, Kayla was more observant that he thought. But nonetheless, Kayla let the matter slide.

She stood up and extended her hand to help him up.

"Why don't we go get something to eat then?" she suggested.

Will was still somewhat unsteady on his legs. He smiled and nodded even though the last thing he wanted to do was eat. He followed Kayla out of the infirmary and over to the dining pavilion. The sun was warm, the sky clear. It was a beautiful day.

 _-roughly five hours earlier-_

 **Nico's p.o.v**

 _Nico was around seven years old. He was walking through an Italian street market on a warm summer day. Holding one of his hands was a tall, slender woman with long, dark hair that came almost to her waist. Holding his other hand was a girl of about nine who shared some of the same characteristics as Nico and this woman._

 _Bright chatter filled the street, vendors were shouting out prices for their farm-fresh produce, meats and cheeses. Nico felt at home in this place and with these people. The language spoken gave him comfort._

 _Suddenly, the girl turned to face him. She looked deeply saddened, and broken, Nico could see it in her eyes. For some reason Nico knew that the usual happiness of this girl was missing._

" _Nico," she started shyly, "I'm so sorry that I left you. I know that it was wrong and I know that you'll never forgive me. I'm sorry."_

 _A single tear rolled down the girl's cheek. It hurt Nico deeply to see her like this. He tried to reach out and hug her but she dissolved right in front of him and the rest of the landscape soon followed._

His eyes snapped open as he shot up in bed. This was the second time Nico had had this dream in three days. He had also had the original flashback of the hotel lobby a few times since arriving at camp.

Nico knew that that was a real memory, from the depths of his mind. He was seven at that point, ten in the other and fifteen now. But those were both in the early 1930s, so there was no way that they logically could have happened.

He suspected that that woman was his mother although, he had no information on her, not even her name. Moreover, Nico had a strange feeling that she was dead.

And that girl. He was almost sure that she was his sister. Bianca. But again, he had no information on her other than her name. He also had a strange sense that her presence in the world was missing.

Nico also wondered what she had meant about leaving him. It worried Nico that she was that distraught by whatever she meant. He was sure that there was absolutely nothing she could have done to hurt him.

He then decided that there was only one person he'd be able to ask about it. Percy.

Nico somewhat admired the guy for his confidence and almost felt like maybe Percy did care about him sometimes. Nico appreciated having him as a friend.

Although Nico was happy to have been able to leave the infirmary, he missed that beautiful boy, Will. Nico appreciated how much Will had done for him. He also loved wearing the hoodie Will had given him. It was a plain navy hoodie. Navy somewhat clashed with the black that Nico liked but nonetheless, he love to wear it. The hoodie smelled exactly like Will, it was soft and comfortable and, it brought Nico...solace.

Nico thought that maybe he'd go to the infirmary just to see him again.

And with that thought, sleep re-claimed him.

a/n: Thanks so much for reading. I'm genuinely very sorry that this chapter was so short. I'm kind of trying to stretch out the events and make the story move a little more slowly. But you know, with being impulsive and hyperactive, that's a bit hard sometimes. Anyways, see y'all soon!


	8. Chapter 8: Sparring

a/n: Hey y'all I'm back at it again with another chapter.

As per usual, there will be mentions of death and coarse language in this particular chapter.

It will also contain some pretty large spoilers from the Percy Jackson series so please refrain from reading if you don't enjoy spoiler.

I own nothing but the plot, all rights go to Rick Riordan.

Enjoy!

 **Nico's p.o.v**

His room had become too bright to sleep in so he decided to peel his eyes open. For some reason, Nico's blinds had been left open. But, instead of being angry, he was...happy.

Nico sat up in bed and gazed at the beautiful, warm sun beaming onto him. He loved it.

Nico stood up, dressed and walked over to the bathroom to brush his teeth. It wasn't until he started scrubbing his tongue that he remembered last night.

For one, he knew that he _had_ to talk to Percy. The shock from the dreams had faded but his curiosity had not. Nico didn't care that what he would learn might scar him. He owed it to Bianca, however he knew her.

He then remembered what he had been thinking about Will. he was disgusted with himself. He was absolutely innate that he felt that way about Will.

He spat. Half in disgust and half in necessity. He then stormed over to the window revealing the sun and pulled the blinds shut angrily.

He couldn't believe he was like this. What would his parents think? I mean, to be honest he didn't know but he felt like they'd probably hate him just as much as he did. And what would Bianca think? She'd probably never want to be around him again. Not that that much mattered anymore.

With that, he stormed out of his cabin, slamming the door behind him. He decided to head over to the dining pavilion for breakfast. The good mood that he had been in earlier was now almost completely non-existent. The only reason Nico had left his cabin at all was due to the anticipated conversation with Percy.

When Nico sat down at his table, Percy was, again, already there, ready to see him.

"Hey bro!" Percy exclaimed genuinely.

"Hey," Nico responded, "how are you?"

"Eh, I'm okay. Annabeth had to leave because there was some 'family drama' back at home. From what I heard, it's pretty bad. How about you?"

"I'm good. But, I haven't been sleeping very well as of late. I was hoping that was something you could help me with."

By this point, their plates had been filled with food.

"Okay, shoot," Percy said as he shoveled food into his mouth.

Nico launched into his semi-prepared explanation. He told him about the very first flashback, the dreams, Bianca, the woman and as an afterthought, the time discrepancy.

When Nico had finished, Percy looked up from his plate and at Nico.

"Interesting, what do you say we meet up at the amphitheatre after lunch and we'll go from there?"

"Yeah, sure," Nico said.

Nico was a little bit disappointed that he couldn't find out about all of these things as soon as possible. But he was also thankful that Percy was willing to give him privacy and tell him about all of this.

The two ate in polite silence with the occasional remark or question. Once they were done, Nico got up and headed back to his cabin, bidding farewell to Percy.

Nico was anxious. He laid down on his bed in the pitch black. He was scared. What was he going to learn? And was he going to like it? Was it worth it?

Nico thought back to all the scars he had seen on his body. He had definitely been depressed before. And he still had some of those thoughts lingering. He guessed that some of that depression had probably been caused or related to some of the childhood trauma that Percy had mentioned.

Nico had only been dealing with anxiety as of late. He was having trouble leaving his cabin in the morning. And worse, when he thought about some particularly random stuff, he felt so anxious he was going to vomit.

But there was two people in this world that made him feel so much better. This was Percy. He was so glad that Percy was in his life. But Nico knew that Percy probably didn't feel the same about Nico. And then there was that beautiful, blond-haired, blue-eyed son of the sun. Nico actually loved Will. But he really didn't know him well enough to know if he loved him or just the idea of him. And what hurt Nico even more is that he was almost sure that Will didn't feel the same about him.

Nico layed there for a moment more before getting up and running over to the bathroom in the back of his cabin. He only barely had time to flip on the light and open the toilet as he projectile vomited.

Nico coughed and flushed. He stood there, balancing on the counter and looking at himself in the mirror, contemplating why he was such a mess.

He hated himself. He started to cry and he sunk down against the wall with his knees against his chest. He then started to have a panic attack. His heart started to race, his chest felt tight and he felt out of breath. He couldn't breathe and he felt like he was dying. This was the first time he had had one since arriving at camp. Although, he felt vaguely like he had had many before.

He sat there for a good twenty-five minutes hyperventilating and sobbing. He couldn't move. He was paralyzed with fear. Over nothing.

He felt useless, like a failure and weak. He just looked at his tear-streaked face and trembling lips and hands and all he was was disgusted. With himself, with how he felt and how he was.

About an hour later, Nico stood up, sulked over to his bed and assumed his prior position on his bed and slept immediately due to exhaustion.

 _-about five hours later-_

 **Percy's p.o.v**

He was sweaty and somewhat out of breath. He had been at the arena practicing for what he thought was an hour. He was anxious. Some of the shit that Percy was about to tell Nico was pretty fucked up.

Percy knew that Nico had had a rough time since his sister. And he was scared how Nico was going to react to him telling him this. He knew that Nico remembered absolutely nothing and he felt like this was somewhat a good and bad thing. The good part was that he was shielded from all that pain. Percy knew that he would give anything to forget that place and not have to deal with the nightmares and flashbacks and pain.

But the bad part was that Nico didn't know his past. Percy saw the amazing strength in Nico that he had displayed during the war with Gaea. Percy knew that his past was what made him strong and was the reason he was the person he was. Percy saw the way Nico was now and he saw that he was different but not better. To Percy, Nico looked lost and he was just different. He looked sad. Percy hated seeing him like that.

Speak of the devil, Nico walked into the arena at that exact moment. But, Percy didn't notice him, he just kept on practicing.

"Hey," Nico started as he walked closer to him.

Percy whipped around in confusion. Nico looked like he had just woken up. His hair was a bit messy and his face was puffy. Probably from crying. Nico also looked pale and somewhat sickly.

"Hey, Nico," Percy said.

He walked over to the seats and signalled for Nico to follow. Percy sat down and wiped the sweat from his brow. He looked at his watch and saw that it was actually around 1pm. He had thought he had only spent like an hour training.

But the more that the thought about it, his exhaustion and lactic acid in his muscles matched the time frame of five hours.

"So," Percy started, "umm, where do you want to start? Or do you have anything in specific you want to ask?"

"Well, first of all, when was I born? Like I know the date but not the year."

"Your full birthday is January 28th, 1924."

As Percy said this, Nico seemed to become a bit confused."

"Okay," Nico said, "can we just get the whole story now?"

"Yeah, sure," Percy responded, "so basically, you were born in Italy back in 1924 to Maria di Angelo and Hades. You have an older sister, Bianca di Angelo. So, when your mom died, which was the scene in the first flashback, your father had to protect you and your sister from Zeus because he was jealous. He took you and Bianca to the Lotus casino and hid you there. Because it's an enchanted location, time passes differently there. You stayed there from around 1934 to 2007. Then, you both got moved to Westover Hall, a boarding school over in Maine. When I, Thalia and Annabeth who I'm sure you'll be able to meet and ask if you want to, came to rescue you guys, we took you back to camp along with the hunters of Artemis. This is where it gets a bit hard. Bianca decided that she wanted to join the Hunters. At that time, there was a prophecy that had been spoken and we had to go on a quest to try and solve it. You couldn't come because at the time, you were about ten. But just before we left, you made me promise you that I would keep your sister safe. I promised you. But, while we were on the quest, she tried to get a gift for you and she disappeared. That's how she died. When we returned to camp, you asked me where your sister was and i had to tell you that I broke my promise to keep her safe and that she died, at my hands. I felt awful and you hated me. You screamed and summoned some skeletons. That's where that scar in the marble floor in the pavilion is from. You then disappeared. I was devastated. And the rest of the story has to do with the war and everything so if you want to hear that I'll tell you but maybe another time."

Percy looked up at Nico. Nico was shocked and he knew why. Percy didn't like thinking about how he had failed Nico and Bianca. He started to cry. He hated breaking promises and hurting people. That's when something unexpected happened. Nico leaned in and wrapped his arms around Percy. And hugged him. Percy felt better almost immediately.

"Thank you," Nico whispered in his ear, "I just want you to know that I forgive you. It was unfair of me to have been angry at you for that. It wasn't your fault."

Percy removed his face from his hands. He was shocked. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He never believed he'd hear that, he never imagined that Nico could forgive him.

"R-really?" Percy asked

"Yeah. Of course, I wouldn't ever do that to someone. I'm sorry that I hurt you and made you feel like it was your fault. It wasn't fair."

It was then his turn to hug. Percy turned and embraced Nico tightly. It took him a second but, he hugged back.

The two enjoyed a wholesome moment of forgiveness and appreciation for one another.

After that moment had passed, Percy grabbed his sword.

"Hey Nico, how'd you feel about a small sparring match?"

"Sure," Nico said as he stood up and took Percy's hand.

 **Will's p.o.v**

Will was so tired. He hadn't eaten in two days and he felt so sick. He had tried to eat a popsicle earlier and the whole thing had just come right back up. He was really anxious and he hated it. He hated not being able to sit still or hold almost anything without his hands shaking. He felt like a ghost, like he was floating and like he was about to pass out. The one person who had noticed was Kayla.

He hated the fact that she cared about him. He didn't want to talk to her about what was going on because he knew that she's probably think he was weak. And he really didn't want to tell anyone about his mom lest they thought it was his fault.

Will felt sick and knew that he probably shouldn't be in the infirmary given the state he was in. It had been relatively empty all day, except for a few sprains and one major cut. Will was trying to put things back into the cabinets but he was struggling. His hands trembled and his eyes stopped focusing.

He was trying to put a container of tongue depressors on the shelf when his grip failed and he dropped it.

"Shit," he said as he began to pick them up and put them in the container.

"Hey," Kayla said as she walked in, "is everything okay in here?"

"Yeah," Will said.

"Will, you put those in someone's mouth, you have to throw them out after they touch the ground."

"Oh, yeah. Totally." He said as he took them out and threw them away.

"Here, Will, I'll clean this up, why don't you head back to the cabin and try and get some rest?"

"Okay," he said.

Will was too exhausted to even care. But he was still a bit mad. Did Kayla see him as weak? And like she needed to protect him? He was going to show her that he was strong enough on his own.

At this point, he was already in the field. He decided to take a walk. He felt like if he stopped moving that he might pass out.

He just walked around camp for about a good hour, his mind wasn't silent for a single second. All he could think about was how frustrated he was with himself and his anxiety and the fact that he couldn't function or think. His head hurt and his muscles ached. He was so zoned out that he didn't even notice the boy coming across the field.

 **Nico's p.o.v**

Nico was astounded. As soon as he picked up his sword, his fingers instinctively just curled around it. And he was good. Even though he would never admit it, he was good. He was better than Percy. He had beaten him like five times. Nico was surprised. The whole thing came to him almost naturally.

He didn't know where he had learned how to use a sword. But what he did now know was that he had a sister. And he now understood what she was saying about how she had "abandoned" him. But, he forgave her. He didn't understand why she had joined the hunters but he forgave her.

He missed her. He was sad that she wasn't here. He knew that she was probably the only person who could tell him what his early childhood must have been like, given that she was there too.

When he looked up, he saw the beautiful blond boy coming towards him across the field. He was nervous. He didn't know if it was weird for him to just start talking. But, in an instant, his instincts just took over.

"Hey Will!" Nico said. It may have come out a bit too enthusiastically.

Will's head snapped up and a small smile formed on his face.

"Hi," he said.

"How are you?"

"I'm good," Will said tiredly, "how are you?"

"I'm goo-WILL!"

a/n: Thanks so much for reading. See y'all soon!


	9. Chapter 9: Confessions

a/n: Hey y'all, I'm back at it again. So sorry it's been so long but ya know, with school and all, it's kind of a lot.

As per usual, **this chapter will contain explicit mentions of fasting, abuse and depression. Please do not read if any of these themes upset you.**

As always, all rights go to Rick Riordan, I own nothing but the plot.

 **Nico's p.o.v**

"I'm goo-WILL!"

The boy had just vomited and collapsed right in-front of him. Nico had lunged forward and caught him right under his arms.

Nico took a moment but managed to shift Will so that he was in a damsel carry.

He wasn't quite panicking but, he didn't quite know what to do. So, he headed to the only place he could think of, the infirmary.

Nico ran as fast as he could, all the way across the fields, through the big house and into the infirmary. The trek that would have usually taken about five minutes was completed by Nico in forty-five seconds flat.

He burst through the doors and yelled,

"Kayla!"

Her head shot up and took a single second to process before she called after him.

"Here, Nico, bring him this way."

Nico walked over to the back room where he was staying only a few days earlier. Nico came over to the bed and gently laid Will down on it.

Nico backed away and just stood there, frozen, unsure of what to do. He watched as Nico worked almost meticulously. She cut off his shirt and exposed his chest and stomach. Nico had to admit that Will was buff. He had a strong, muscular physique. This made Nico kind of blush.

He watched as Kayla put on those heart monitor stickers, a blood pressure cuff and a blood oxygen monitor. The heart monitor showed that he had a strong pulse. Kayla took his blood pressure and seemed to be somewhat satisfied. The blood oxygen also read as 99%, which Nico assumed was good. He watched with tantalizing concentration waiting for Will to just open his eyes.

Kayla then pulled on a pair of gloves and started an IV. She also then took his blood sugar. The final thing she did was she propped up his head and secured a nasal cannula on him.

She then turned to Nico.

"Okay, Nico I'm going to have you sit right there, I'm going to grab you a blanket and some water. When I get back, I'm going to need you to explain to me what happened."

With that, she walked out and left the two boys on their own. Nico had just sat down in the chair, the same chair that Will had sat in when Nico was sick, when Kayla came back into the room.

She put down a glass of water on the small side table and wrapped the beige blanket she had in hand around Nico's shoulders. She then pulled up a chair and sat down next to the shivering boy.

"Nico, what happened?" Kayla asked regally.

"Well, I was just walking across the field when Will and I ran into each other. We started talking when he vomited and collapsed. I just grabbed him and ran here as fast as I could. To be honest, I've noticed he was looking somewhat sickly over the past few days. I'm really worried about him."

"Well, you did the exact right thing by bringing him right here. His blood sugar is pretty low but the rest of his vitals are relatively normal. I've also noticed him acting a bit strangely as of late. But, Nico, thanks so much for taking care of him."

At that moment, another patient entered the infirmary.

"Here, Nico, I have to go but, you're welcome to stay the night if you want," Kayla said with a small smile.

She got up, closed the door and left.

That's when the shock finally really hit Nico. He finally processed what happened. The adrenaline had completely worn off and his arms and legs had started to ache from carrying Will all the way there.

He was shaking. Looking at Will comatose and pale and sickly in the bed made Nico want to scream. He was so scared. He thought that maybe Will was seriously injured and sick. What had made him just pass vomit and pass out like that?

Nico would have stood up and started pacing with anxiety if he had been strong enough. His hands were shaking and he felt cold and light, like a ghost, his legs felt weak. Nico was very skinny yet had a surprising amount of muscle definition. He was still surprised that he had been able to muster the strength to carry Will. Will wasn't heavy by any means. He had much the same body-type as Nico, slim but still strong. Although, Will was about a sixth of a meter taller than Nico.

But at this moment, Will looked nothing like his usual self. His face instead of being flushed with colour, bright and lively, he looked...sad, broken. Nico didn't know how he knew that,he just did. When he thought back to the way that Will had been acting when Nico had seen him earlier that day. He seemed different, strange, exhausted and lethargic.

Nico couldn't believe that this was happening. He moved closer to the bed and grabbed Will's hand gently. It was cold and soft, his fingers almost refused to move, they were stiff, untrusting. But nevertheless, Nico felt it so comforting to just hold his hand. The way that Will's fingers interlaced with his gave him solace. It made him feel as if everything was going to be okay and that it was all going to work out.

Nico sat there for about three more hours before he let his head down on the bed and fell asleep. It hadn't felt like that to him. Nico only knew how long it had been because Kayla had come in three times to check on Will. Nico didn't care how long it had been, he would have stayed there as long as he was needed.

 _~three hours later~_

Nico woke up as he felt the pillow he had been laying on had moved. He opened his eyes and sat up. He was looking at Will. Will was smiling at him. The last thing that Nico noticed was that they were holding hands. Will's hands finally felt warm again.

Nico thought back to when he had been in the infirmary and how he had reacted then. But this time, neither of them made a move to shift their hands.

"Hey," Nico started anxiously, "Will, how are you feeling?"

"I-I'm good." He said.

Nico had questions. What had made Will so sick and why had he passed out and vomited? Nico's mind was racing with all these concerns and questions, almost as it had been the night before. But, he was so very relieved to see that Will was okay. It almost felt to him like a huge weight had been lifted off of his shoulders and he could breathe again, fully.

"So, um, Will, if you don't mind my asking, what made you so sick?" Nico asked.

Will took a moment to contemplate and seemed to make a decision. This made Nico start to panic.

 _What if he had asked him too much? Or gotten too personal? What is he had freaked him out? What was wrong with him?_

Nico moved his hand out of Will's somewhat regretfully. He then started speaking at a million miles a minute and stood up and started to pace around the room.

"Will, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to intrude. It's your business and I'm sorry if i made you uncomfortable and if I overstepped my boundaries. And I understand if you want me to leave. I'm really truly so-"

Will cut him off.

"No, Nico, you didn't. Please come and sit down, I'll explain everything."

Nico was startled. Will didn't sound angry but he sounded like he was there. There was authority in his voice balanced with gentleness.

Nico crossed the room and sat back down in the chair. He shifted closer to the chair and sat there waiting for him to start explaining.

 _ **~mentions of abuse and depression start here~**_

"So, when I was born and my father, Apollo, left, my Mom was okay. She was fine. I had a happy childhood. All up until I was about ten. That's when my Mom's alcoholism started. She just started drinking. And it started as sometimes I'd come home from school and I'd see her in a puddle of her own tears at the kitchen table. I didn't understand. I tried to comfort her and after awhile, it became almost a daily occurrence and she started to become angry seeing me. That's when it got really bad. Her job shifts changed and I'd get home before her. She'd start to drink. Then she'd come upstairs and she would come into my room and start to scream at me. If I didn't do everything she had asked, she would..she."

Tears started to stream down his face and fall off his chin, landing in his lap.

"Will, it's okay, I get if it's too hard to talk about." Nico said.

Will took his hands and wiped his face.

"No, it's okay," he said before he resumed, "If I didn't do everything she had asked, she would hit me. It started with simple slaps or spankings. Then she started shoving me into walls and railings. Then it was punching. I remember having bruises all over my face and arms and just telling everyone that I had fallen or something along those lines. And no one ever really took the time to look into it. I guess people only cared if they wanted to. It got to the point where I couldn't change for gym with the rest of his class because of the horrible bruises and cuts that covered my body. And sometimes I had broken fingers from them being slammed in things and broken ribs or collarbones, struggling to breathe but never being able to tell anyone. I-I I remember how scared I was to come home everyday. I felt safer and more at home at school, where my mother wasn't even though there was no one that I really trusted."

Will paused for a moment and swallowed, Nico knew that the next part was going to be hard.

"And then, it just became too much. I was sick and tired of coming home and either being screamed at and abused or finding her passed out and wondering if she was dead. I checked for her pulse every time, half-hoping I wouldn't and that I would. I know that's horrible and makes me sound like such a horrible person, which, admittedly, I am. One night, I packed the only small bag that I had with a change of clothes, food and water. And when she was passed out on the floor, I remember stepping over her and out the door. I just walked. I found myself in the forest, far from anyone. And I just walked, and walked. Eventually, I ended up here, at camp."

 _ **~mentions of abuse and depression end here~**_

Nico didn't know what to say. He felt like he didn't deserve to know.

"I'm sorry. That's really hard. If I'm completely honest, I have no idea what that's like. And I feel bad because I can't tell you that I know what it's like and that I understand. I don't completely understand what you must feel or what you've been through. I just want you to know that I'm here for you. I'm sorry that I can't do more."

Nico leaned in and hugged Will, it was uncomfortable for him but it didn't matter. He loved just holding the boy, he felt something in his heart but this time, he didn't care.

"And, Will, for the record, I don't think you're a horrible person, in fact, I think you're far from it. I think you're amazing and kind and so so so compassionate. I watch you work and I am so amazed that you are such an amazing and serene and caring person."

Will began to cry again. Nico got up and climbed onto the bed with him. He hugged him and just held him as he cried. He didn't ever want to let go. The two fell asleep together, on the bed.

 **Will's p.o.v**

Will opened his eyes. He felt warm and comfortable. For the first time in a long time. His abdomen still hurt and he was in pain. He felt better but not good. He opened his eyes and saw that Nico was on the bed with him, his arms wrapped around him.

He sat there for a moment and just savoured the moment. He turned to the boy beside him and just looked at his face. He looked so calm and beautiful. He looked peaceful.

This moment was interrupted by Kayla knocking on the door and coming in. In a panic, Will closed his eyes and pretended to sleep.

He could hear her walking over and looking over at the monitors. Kayla leaned in and whispered in his ear.

"Will, I know you're not dumb. Your heart rate is just too high for you to be asleep. Don't be embarrassed, I understand you're here with your boyfriend." Kayla finished almost with a giggle.

This caused Will's eyes to shoot open and he elbowed Kayla,

"We are not dating, you imbecile," _although maybe I wish we were._ He said.

All the movement had caused Nico to wake up.

He looked over at the beautiful boy's face and just gazed at it for a moment, staring deeply into his onyx eyes.

After that tender moment of intimacy, Nico noticed that Kayla was in the room and was noticeably startled, his cheeks flushed with colour. He also became uncomfortable, which Will hated to see.

"Oh, Kayla, you're here too," Nico said awkwardly.

"Yeah," Kayla responded, "here, Nico, why don't you go and get some breakfast and I'll get Will in the shower and all ready. Then, you can come right back. Sound good?"

Nico nodded and got off the bed. The warmth that filled Will's body almost immediately faded. He was sad. He didn't want Nico to go, mainly because he loved him but also because he knew that a lecture was about to come from Kayla. And he was dreading it.

As Nico headed through the door, he looked at Will one last time, making his heart flutter. He really loved that boy.

The tension in the room immediately grew by about ten times. Will looked at his lap. He was ashamed. He had put Kayla in this position and he was mad at himself for it, he couldn't bear to make eye contact with Kayla at that moment.

She sat down on the bed at his feet and placed her hand gently on his leg.

"Will, you threw up and passed out, what happened?"

Will was hesitant to answer. He didn't want her to see him as weak. And he really didn't want to talk about the abuse from his mother and the nightmares.

"I had been fasting for three days. And then, when you saw that I was really tired and told me to head back to our cabin, I was mad because I thought you saw me as weak and incapable so I decided to take a walk and I ran into Nico. That's when I passed out. And now I'm here."

Kayla looked somewhat disappointed in him. She knew that he had irregular and somewhat unhealthy eating habits. And she hated it. She and he both knew how dangerous it was and how bad it was for him. But, he couldn't seem to keep himself from doing it.

The reason why Will fasted was either because of his anxiety or because he felt like he needed to punish himself.

"Will, I need you to promise me that you're not going to do that again. Okay?"

"Okay." he replied reluctantly.

Will was lying. He didn't know when the next time he was going to fast but he knew that he wouldn't be able to not.

a/n: Hey guys, thanks so much for reading all the way to the end. I get that this was a pretty packed chapter but I have some more stuff coming. I'm also planning on maybe starting another Fanfic? Idk, let me know what y'all think.

Also, please do not attempt to fast for any amount of time except for that between meals, it is very dangerous and is not in any way good for you!


	10. Chapter 10: The Jötunn

_**CONTENT WARNING: Mentions of death, abuse, and hospital settings/vomiting.**_ **Please do not read if any of these themes upset you.**

As always, all rights go to Rick Riordan, I own nothing but the plot.

 **Nico's p.o.v**

Nico was relieved. He had seen Will, and he was okay.

As he walked over to his table, he was completely lost in thought. He sat down, balanced his face on his hands and continued to ponder all of the possibilities that were racing through his mind.

A moment later, a beige blob moved in-front of his face.

Nico's eyes still unfocused, all he could make out was two sea-green eyes and jet black hair. He was deep in thought, he couldn't even be bothered to acknowledge the person sitting in front of him.

Then a smaller beige blob moved in front of his face, Nico realized that this was a hand and decided to refocus himself.

"Nico?" Percy asked in a slightly concerned tone, "you good?"

He took a moment to think, he was still in shock. Was he?

"Yeah, no, I'm fine I guess," Nico had responded.

"You guess?" Percy asked. The question was left unanswered for a moment before a look of concern and recognition passed over his face. Percy looked really guilty before he spoke again.

"Was it because of what I told you?" he asked, timidity filling his voice.

Nico was confused for a moment, he had almost completely forgotten about Bianca. And everything else that Percy had told him. He also felt really bad that he had made him feel bad about something. He felt guilty. He rushed to explain.

"No no no," Nico started frantically, "no, of course not, Percy. It was just that...Will had a rough night last night. He's been in the infirmary since yesterday."

"Oh wow, Nico, how is he doing? Is he okay?"

"Yeah, he's doing better this morning, at least I think. I was just walking yesterday after our sparring. Just kind of taking a second to process everything and clear my head a little bit. That's when I saw Will. He was walking across the field and we were talking and then he just puked and passed out."

Nico tried to keep the concern and worry out of his voice but even he could tell that he was failing miserably. But Percy didn't even seem to acknowledge it.

"And so I panicked. I just grabbed him and ran all the way to the infirmary. It was really...really scary. And I was sitting there for a few hours while he slept. Kayla took all his vitals and said he would be fine that he just needed to eat and rest. He woke up and we started talking. He told me some things that," Nico's eyes started to almost tear up, "are really upsetting. It was some stuff about his mom."

What Nico didn't know was that Will had arrived at camp about a year after Percy had come for the first time. Percy wasn't completely aware of the full extent of the situation but he knew enough from his own childhood to know abuse when he saw it.

Percy saw as Nico started to stutter and was at a loss for words, and he gently put his hand on his forearm.

"Hey, Nico, it's okay. I can see you're having a hard time with this, how about after breakfast we'll head over to the infirmary and we'll see how he's doing. How about that?" Percy said.

Nico saw the kindness in his eyes as Percy smiled at him. Nico was so thankful for a friend like that, one who supported him even though he barely knew him.

"Yeah, yeah, that sounds good." Nico said, wiping his eyes dry, "Thanks, Perce."

Percy smiled at him once more and then began to eat. Nico followed. Nico was listening to Percy monologue on about how Annabeth had misplaced her laptop again and had realized she had left it in the forest. Nico had so many questions. Why was she in the forest and why would she have had a reason to have her laptop in the forest. He was just confused. But he let it slide.

He started by just smiling and nodding before he actually started paying attention and participating. Percy had this amazing talent at making people forget what they're worrying about. And Nico appreciated it. He needed it.

There were about ten more minutes where they just talked and ate. Nico was content. He wasn't happy but he was at peace. He felt calm. He felt as if there had been weight that was lifted from his shoulders. He was smiling.

Percy then stood up and brushed himself off.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

Nico stood up and nodded at him. He then followed him out of the pavillion, to the big house and through the infirmary. There was almost no one in the infirmary, which was a little bit shocking to him. But Percy seemed to know where he was going. He led the pair to the back of the ward and to a small, slightly secluded room. Nico didn't think much about it, he did know that he had once heard a story about him and Annabeth having to do with this room.

He moved his hand to the linoleum door and looked at Nico one last time for conformation, he nodded and Percy knocked, softly three times. A moment later, Kayla came to the door. At first there was a surprised look on her face seeing Percy and then a small smirk seeing Nico. Kayla stepped forward and hugged Percy.

"I'm glad to see you as a visitor this time, Jackson," she said with a smile on her face.

"Nice to see you too, Knowles," he replied.

She then motioned them inside. Percy let Nico walk in front of him, forcing him to sit in the chair closest to Will, by his head and Percy was sitting at the foot of the bed. Kayla spent a second looking over Will's monitors and then left the room, leaving it as just the three of them.

"Hey Will," Percy asked, in his usual lighthearted, cheery voice, "how are you doing?"

"I'm doing fine," he replied quickly.

Nico could see the look of fear in his eyes. But he couldn't figure out of what. And distrust. There was tension in the room, cold and piercing. As Percy began to tell one of his nonsense stories about him having pranked one of his teachers at the last school he was expelled from, this tension disappeared. The trio stayed talking about everything and nothing at all for hours.

It was just before dinner that Kayla entered the room, shooing Percy and Nico out of the room.

"Bye Will, get well soon," Percy said as he exited.

Nico lingered a moment longer and made eye contact with the sickly boy laying in the bed infront of him. His heart skipped a beat. And for the first time in what seemed like weeks, Will smiled.

"See you soon, Will," and with that he closed the door.

 _~roughly six hours later~_

The brisk night air bit at Nico's skin. He just had to make across the field and then he'd be at his destination. He felt so tired, but most of all he was overwhelmed. So many thoughts were running through his mind at all times and every emotion seemed to hit him all at once.

He stopped infront of the wooden door and knocked. He waited a moment, everything inside the cabin was silent until he heard feet coming across the floor. The door swung open and revealed a half-asleep, dazed Percy. His hair was a mess, his shirt was wrinkled and he was missing a sock.

"Nico? What's up man?" Percy asked, trying to shake off his drowsiness.

"I...I-I just came to say thank you," there was a pause, "for everything."

Without speaking, Percy pulled Nico in for a hug.

"I'm always here for you, man, I promise. I wasn't once but I promise that will never happen again."

With that, Nico headed back to his cabin and brushed his teeth. As he was standing at the sink and overwhelming fear started to creep up on him. He elected to ignore it and see if it would pass as he changed from his skinny jeans to sweatpants.

He laid there for hours more before sleep had finally claimed him.

 _She was young, maybe thirteen, she had long black hair, she was pretty. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a shirt. She was standing in the middle of a desert, what seemed to be a trash dump surrounded her._

 _To her left was the path, three other teens were walking along it, towards the open desert. To her right stood a pile. Right on top was a golden figurine. She recognized it anywhere,_

 _He'll love this, she thought as she reached out her hand. She grabbed the small figurine and held it tightly. She turned away, and started to walk. The landscape started to move, Nico sood there, paralyzed with fear._

 _Nico wanted to scream, to cry, to yell. But he was too late._

 _As her hand clutched the toy, she was swallowed by a black shape and crushed by a massive titanium leg. One that must have belonged to the gods._

He gasped as he came back into the world as he knew it. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't move he couldn't do anything. He didn't know what to do. He had never seen that scene before. It was terrifying. His mother's death seemed so long ago and as if it was from another world, lifetime. It still jarred him beyond belief every time he saw it but this was so much worse. This was terrestrial, earthly, it seemed to have just happened, he felt like he was there.

He dragged himself across the floor, past the other bunks to the bathroom. He felt so exhausted from the short trek. He reached for the switch and pulled himself into the shower. He turned the water on, he left it on cold and propped himself up against the wall. Then he started to cry. Sobbed, hysterically. He screamed. He couldn't handle all the pain he was in. Why was she dead? Why had his mother died?

As the minutes went on, he focused on how the cold water stung his skin, numbing him. He breathed. And then he turned off the water and sleep reclaimed him.

 _~Two hours later~_

He woke up to banging on his door. Someone was yelling his name. He stumbled out of the shower, he had been sitting on the drain hole so the water was pooling around him, he left a trail of water behind him. When he got to the door and swung it open, he was greeted by just about the brightest light he had ever seen. His eyes burnt, they stung.

Percy looked him up and down, not pausing on a single spot. He took a moment to think and finally asked.

"Dude what the hell happened to you?" Percy asked, concern riddling his face.

"Can I explain inside? The sun is kind of killing me, " Nico asked.

Percy nodded and walked inside, he sat himself on the bed and offered Nico the seat next to him.

"I just had a nightmare...It was about Bianca. I saw how she died. And I...I-I never want to see that again. It hurt me in a way that nothing else ever could. I woke up and I couldn't breathe so I got into the shower. Then, I guess I turned it off and fell asleep. And we're here now."

"Wow, Nico, I'm so sorry. I know how you feel. I've watched people die...as much as anyone would like it to, it never really goes away. But there's ways of getting over it, there's ways of making the pain from it go away. And I and Annabeth and Kayla and Will are here for you. Okay?"

Nico nodded. Gratitude overcame him. He knew that he wasn't alone. And Percy had done more than just say it.

"Percy, how did you know to come find me?" Nico asked curiously.

"Well, back about two years ago, I had the same kind of nightmares. I always used to get into the shower too. It was the water, not in the same divine way as it usually would affect me, but the water just calmed me down. And for some reason it was the only time where the water didn't remind me of my dad, sometimes painfully so. I couldn't sleep last night and I heard your shower. It was around four and so I thought it was wierd. Then, I came to knock on the door and you didn't answer. That's when I knew."

Nico was dumbfounded. He never thought that Percy would have been intuitive. But it didn't surprise him one bit that Percy cared about him enough to come find him.

"Thank you," was all that Nico managed to squeak out before Percy hugged him and got up to leave.

"Get some dry clothes on and I'll see you at breakfast in ten," Percy winked at Nico and shut the door.

 _a/n: Thanks so much for reading. Sorry I've been so slow with my updates but I'm hoping to get back on track soon._


	11. Chapter 11: Redemption

**a/n:** Hi everyone! I'm back. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

As per usual I only own the plot but all other rights (characters) go to Rick Riordan.

Enjoy!

 **Nico's p.o.v**

Nico hadn't been sleeping well lately. Or much at all. His brain felt like jelly, time was slow and thick. Exhaustion weighed at the back of his eyes. His head was almost vacuous. He sat on his bed, knowing that sleep wasn't going to come to him easily. Or maybe at all. He knew that the issue wasn't actually sleep. It was him. Well not really him but his subconscious, the part of him he would never really know.

In the past few days, every time he closed his eyes, he was haunted by the screams of his sister and the flashing images of her death. Torment was the only word he could use to describe it. Trepidation, reliving it over and over. His body ached, it felt heavy to move. Tired from sitting, he smacked down on his dark sheets.

He blinked and rubbed his face while shifting his greasy hair out of his face. He lied there for hours, just waiting for something to happen, for him to fall asleep, or just stay awake.

Multiple times he had caught himself drifting off and had to jolt awake, not only was the lack of sleep draining him but the effort expensed to stay awake was tantalizing. Hours later, finally, he closed his eyes.

 _~a good two hours later~_

He was sweating, it felt like someone was sitting on his chest, crushing him. He was hot yet cold, unable to breathe yet panting. The walls were closing in on him, compressing him into what seemed to be an even more fragile, insignificant, senseless individual.

The boy knew he needed to breathe, to escape. Without thinking, he desprately pushed himself off his bed and into the rest of the room. In desperation, he clawed at the door knob.

Chilled air bit at his moist skin, sharp blades of grass cut at his bare feet. But he didn't care. He was relieved, he could finally breathe. Unaware of where he was going, he started to walk. Field turned into trees and forest.

The forest was sublime, its sight at night was breathtaking. Water droplets glowed on the leaves, the moonlight reflecting off the shimmering liquid. Calamity filled him as he continued his path through the forest.

When forest turned to sand, exhaughstion almost reclaimed him. He sat on the sand and listened as the water crashed along the shore and disrupted the sand. The moon reflected across the surface of the water, ships sailing in the distance.

His breathing began to sync with the water, calming him and slowing his heart rate. Eventually, he layed down, spread out on the white sandy beach. Nico stared at the stars above him, it was a really clear night, a perfect one for viewing all celestial bodies it seemed.

He tried to trace lines between the stars in his head, outlining the constellations. He never understood astrology, the stars were supposed to have stories and omens that they brought with them. He'd have loved to believe in it if it weren't for the fact that he could never remember it. The sighting of Venus meant absolutely nothing to him because he couldn't remember what it meant.

As he lay there, his eyes became heavy and his breath slowed. Soon enough, all tension had left his body and Nico fell asleep, mere metres from the shore.

Suddenly, he started awake, bolted up and assumed an attacking stance. It was all instinct, his mind had played no part in his sudden awakening.

The warmth of the adrenaline in his body was enough to make him immune from the freezing night air.

"Nico...are you good?" A concerned voice asked from right behind him.

He whipped around so quickly the world became a blur.

"Oh, Perce, its you," he said, "fuck man, you scared me."

"I scared you?," Percy made a face almost as if Nico had just insulted him, "dude i straight up thought you were fucking dead."

Nico and Percy laughed at their own stupidity, ignoring the fact that they had just run into eachother in the middle of the night on the beach.

"What are you doing here?" Nico asked.

"The better question is what _you're_ doing here," retorted Percy, "were you looking to be the harpies' midnight snack?"

Nico laughed, he had definetly forgotten about the harpies.

"No, i just couldn't sleep and I figured that a quick walk would do me some good. I guess I just got too tired. Why are you out here?"

Percy evaded his question, which Nico found very strange.

"Come with me, I wanna show you something," Percy said as he began to walk back towards the forest.

Nico walked just beside him. Neither of them talked, they just took in the landscape, the serene forest. Eventually, Percy walked off of the rocky path they had been walking on and into the forest.

It seemed that he was just walking in an arbitrairy direction but somehow with a purpose and a clear sense of direction. Nico did what he could to keep up.

"Dude, where are we even going?" Nico asked as Percy led him further and further into the dark forest.

Percy didn't answer, which somewhat worried Nico but nonetheless, Nico still trusted him.

About five minutes later from what Nico could tell, Percy took his jacket off and layed it at the base of a tree. He then walked over to another tree oppposite to the one his jacket was resting on.

Nico didn't know what was going on but he certainly hadn't expected Percy to just start freeclimbing the tree.

Once he got about thirty feet up in the tree, and Nico could no longer see him, a rope and branch ladder came faling down the tree.

He just guessed what he was supposed to do and grabbed the ladder and started climbing. He hadn't quite realized just how tall the tree was until he was about halfway up.

Nico climbed through a square entrance into what he could only explain as a tree house. The structure had some ammount of futuriust, modernic qualities to it but nonetheless also felt homey and welcoming.

There were blankets and pillows strewn about on the floor, a single table with two opposing chairs along one wall, as set of drawers and a ladder up to another level.

"Welcome to our tree house," percy said with the widest grin on his face.

Nico felt like the mother whose five year old was showing her how proud he was of his unrecognizable drawring.

"It's uhhh...it's cool," Nico said.

He didn't know what to say, he didn't know what he was doing there, or what that place even was. He had so many questions but he simply didn't feel like asking them.

"There's something else I'd like to show you," and with that, Percy turned and walked towards the ladder.

Again, Nico followed him up the ladder completely unaware as to what the upstairs beheld. They were again in a small wodden-walled room with somewhat of a mess on the floor. Then, Percy opened the small door on the adjacent wall letting quite a bit of light enter the room. Nico followed closely behind him.

The two soon found themselves in a room made completely of glass. To one side there was a desk with two matching cups, one full of pencils and the other of pens, there was graph paper and what seemed to be rough drafts of projects littered all over the desk. Beside the desk there was a telescope, it was big and black, seemingly able to see to the ends of the universe.

Through the glass windows, Nico realized he was high enough to see all the stars above and on the horizon. Not only that but he could also see the milky way, in all of it's dusty glory. The sky seemed endless.

"Percy, this is…"

"Amazing, right," he again was beaming with pride.

"Yeah, dude this is so cool."

"I would show you how to use the telescope, maybe let you look at some planets but to be honest, I really don't know how to use it myself. But don't tell Annabeth cause she's explained it to me a hundred times."

Nico started to laugh. Of course Percy didn't know how to operate one of the simplest things and of course it had been because he hadn't been listening at the time.

"No I won't tell her, don't worry. But, out of curiosity: why do you guys have this place?" Nico asked.

"Well, way back when we met, we had both kind of liked eachother. But neither of us really wanted to say it. So when we did start dating, we always got these comments like 'oh look, they finnally realized' and 'wow, didn't see that one coming' in another part, I guess Annabeth's siblings didn't exactly aproove of me I guess so to say. So she designed this place and I built it. She used to come here to get away from all her cabin mates, I came to get closer to her."

"Wow, thats really cool Perce, thank you for sharing this with me," Nico said.

He was so grateful for having a friends like Percy, someone who was willing to stand by him and hold his hand the whole way through. He was so happy he had finnally found someone he could trust and that he knew would always be by his side.

"Do you want me to teach you how to use the telescope?" Nico asked.

"Sure, I mean why not I guess," Percy responded eagerly.

Nico spent the next few hours showing Percy how to move the lense, adjust it to focus and which dials to turn and not to turn to move the telescope itself. Eventually, it started to become too bright to use the telescope without fear of frying their retinas.

The pair sat down in the two bean bag chairs sitting in the corners of the room. They were just chatting away and watching the sun rise when Percy asked him something.

"Nico," Percy said with concern in his voice.

"Yeah?" Nico responded, completely casually.

"Where did you learn to use a telescope?"

"I..I guess I don't know,"

Thoughts began to race in Nico's mind. He was trying to remember, but there was nothing there, he was staring at the bottom of an empty well. He knew how to use it, and exactly what the parts were called and how to care for them. He just didn't know how he had learned, why, or who had taught him, let alone when.

He was so distracted by his thoughts that he almost hadn't realized that Percy was hugging him until he let go.

"Dude, that's awesome, you remember something," Percy looked at him beaming with joy.

"Ha, yeah," Nico responded trying to seem just as excited.

And again, they continued to chat. Nico couldn't say he was nearly as happy as Percy about the whole situation but he tried to let it slide.

Once the sun had risen completely, Percy had grabbed Annabelle's laptop and headed out, leaving Nico alone in the solarium.

Nico hadn't really been planning to go to breakfast that day as he wasn't the most hungry and didn't really enjoy the dining pavillion. But he figured he should at least try to eat something and then he'd head back to his cabin and get some rest.

When he had finished climbing down the ladder, to the base of the thick oak tree, he realized that the ladder was still down. He couldn't freeclimb and Percy wasn't there so he just decided that he would leave it and hope it didn't cause too many issues.

He started his walk back through the forest, onto the path, past the beach and headed to the dining pavillion. He sat, ate and left almost in one smooth motion. He walked back to his cabin competely robotically, he hadn't even realized he had walked there until he turned the doorknob and walked inside.

He flopped down on his bed, not even bothering to do anythimng except take off his shoes and soon enough he was deeply asleep.

 **Will's POV**

He opened his eyes to a farmiliar sensation and sight, Kayla taking a vile of blood.

"Good morning, Sunshine," she said, just as she did every morning.

"Good morning," he said groggily.

How badly did he want to roll over, and go back to sleep. Yet, he knew that just after drawring labs was vitals, his first dose of medication and then the morning interrogation.

She pulled off her gloves and grabbed the blood pressure cuff from the wall just behind him.

Will swore that if anyone _ever_ had to take his blood pressure again, he would punch them out.

"110/75," she said, undoing the cuff.

Will then sat up, knowing exactly what was to come next. He felt Kayla place the bell of her stethoscope above his right lung, he inhaled deeply and exhaled and repeated the process as she moved over to his left lung. He then sat all the way up as she listened to his heart. She then grabbed his chart from the end of his bed and started filling out the chart, every so often looking up at a monitor he was attached to.

"Alright, Will, it seems that you've been feeling a lot better over the past few days and you've been eating a lot more so I'd say you're about ready to go home, I'll just have Chiron come in and look over your chart before its official," She said with a smile as she left the room.

He was dumbfounded, he really was going to be allowed to go home. He had thought Kayla would have pulled a few strings and gotten his stay extended so she could keep an eye on him, but he guessed she hadn't, for which he was grateful.

He sat there silently for the next few minutes before deciding to gather his things. He honestly couldn't believe they were discharging him.

"Well good morning there, Will," the centaur said as he walked in the door and picked up Will's chart.

He spent a minute, his brow furrowed, analyzing the pages upon pages of labs and vitals. Will spent those few minutes in tantalizing fear. He really hoped he wasn't forced to stay. Being unwell was hard enough without adding in hypervigilant relatives into the equation, he thought.

"I mean it all looks good to me so I guess you can go home," Chiron eventually said with a small smile.

"Awesome," Will said flatly.

And with that, Chiron left the room and Will followed him out. Even though he had been in the med centre for two days, he felt like he had been gone for a month. By gods was he tired though.

He dragged himself over the fields to his cabin. And though it was the cabin for the children of the sun, Will was just the opposite. Darkness and exhaughstion almost tangible where he stood.

He sat down gently on his bed, closed his eyes and fell into a sleep worthy of the dead.

A/n : sorry i've been gone so long I've just had lot going on but I'm really hoping to get back into writing soon!


	12. Chapter 12: Traum Albtraum

**a/n:** Hi all, I'm back with another chapter, I hope you all enjoy.

Per usual this chapter will have mentions of death, anxiety an depression etc so please do not read of these themes upset you.

Lastly, i own nothing but the plot, all rights go to Rick Riordan and Disney Hyperion.

 **Will's P.O.V**

Shuffling along the wooden floor of the cabin roused Will from his deep sleep. As he pried his own eyes open he saw one of his younger brothers desperately looking for something.

Will must have moved or at least looked disturbed enough to startle Austin.

"Oh my gods, Will I am so sorry I didn't mean to wake you," he said as he scurried out of the cabin like a mouse.

Will just put his face back into his pillow and groaned. He was so tired he couldn't even think about moving. He tried to slow his breathing until he fell asleep.

Horribly enough though, almost as if she were telepathic, Kayla immediately strutted into the cabin. She shut the door behind her and sat at the end of Will's bed.

"Will…," she said her tone soft but her words forceful, " you're not dead because I didn't go through all that effort of saving you just for you to die," she said while chuckling to herself.

"Bayla badn u nowt," he mumbled into his pillow, still laying face down on his bed.

"Okay well it's almost dinner, if I don't see you in the dining pavillion I WILL find you," she said as she got up and left.

"Aokdshy," he mumbled after as she left.

He just layed there as still as a corpse. He had no concept of time, nor did he particulairly want to. He just breathed. He layed in the soft comfort of his bed and breathed.

It seemed like forever and a minute all at the same time. He was almost asleep when he heard the conch shell be blown.

He was tempted to just continue laying in his bed but he did then remember what Kayla had said about dinner.

He dragged himself and all of his four limbs out of his bed and out the door, being careful to shut the door quietly.

Will sat down at his table and was greeted by many smiling faces of his siblings.

"Hey Will good to see you," one said

"Hey Willy how ya doing" another asked

Will tried his best to put on a smiling face and make light conversation with siblings though he really didn't feel like it.

About a minute later, once everyone had stopped bombarding him with questions and greetings, will unfocused his eyes and just stared at his plate, praying that it would fill itself soon. He put himself on autopilot and smiled and laughed when everyone else did, hoping that no one would notice how disintenteresed and disconnected he was.

Eventually, his plate finnally did fill itself. Will scraped about half of it into the altar fire and pertended to eat the rest, really just moving it around and mashing it with his fork. As soon as he deemed socially acceptable, he pushed himself up and walked out of the dining pavillion, no sense of where he was going but a desire to go.

An hour later, he found himself at the beach, just as the sun was setting. He remembered the first time he had come to camp. He'd spent hours just sitting on the soft sand, gazing at the water swallowing the shore and retreating peacefully. He always came to the beach. For some reason, however counterintutive it was, the setting and rising of the sun was the most calming to him.

He sat against the back of a tree and pulled his knees close to him. He felt small, insignifigant, unimportant.

Sometimes people asked him what he thought the purpose of life was, being a healer and all. To be honest, he really didn't know. He didn't know why people existed or what they were put on the earth to do. Maybe they didn't have a purpose. Maybe they did and he would just never know.

"Hey, fancy seeing you here, sunshine," a voice rang from behind him.

Will jumped and turned around.

"Oh hey," Nico said, "I didn't mean to sartle you," Nico said with a sheepish grin.

Will was shaking, like litterally shaking, his adrenal glands had innapropiately released adrenaline prematurely inducing a flight or flight response. It took him a solid minute to come back to his senses.

"Hi Nico," he said, barely concealing the fear in his voice.

"Can I sit next to you," Nico asked, a thin smile creeping onto his lips.

"Sure, of course," Will responded trying not to sound too desprate.

And that's exactly what Nico did. Maintaining a perfect distance to not seem so distant but also somehwat connected.

After a minute of awkward silence, Nico had finnally asked the quation he'd been dying to learn the answer to.

"So, uh, how are you Will," he said cautious not to pry.

"I'm fine," Will replied trying to hide the lie in his statement.

"Well I'm glad to hear that," Nico said as he shuffled closer to Will but so slowly he hoped that he hadn't noticed.

 **Nico's P.O.V**

The pair sat in silence, but this time it wasn't awkward, it was pleasant, almost enjoyable. Nico just listened to Will breathing. He wasn't listening so much as just hearing. The steady rhythm of the waves crashing onto the shore in combination with the steady breaths of Will calmed Nico, He could almost feel his heart rate and bloodpressure falling.

Nico had always thought the sunset was beautiful, well at least what his definition of forever was, the amnesia and all. But what made it infinetly more beautiful was that he was with one of the most beautiful people he had ever met.

Will's hair was golden, his eyes piercing blue. Sometimes they were wide and full of wonder, something that reminded Nico of a small child, innocent, whole and full of hope. Other times they were empty and dark. Nico hated seeing Will like that, it almost broke his heart to only see his smile in his mouth and not his eyes.

He was the son of the sun afterall but he was even more sublime than the sun. His spirit, his life force was strong and vibrant. Will's body was full of life, full of wonder, strength and will. But somehow, Nico got the sense that Will's head was not the same, that it was very much not the same.

Nico was calm, so very calm he didn't even need to move. It was the calmest he had ever remembered being, though it wasn't really an accurate quantification.

Their serenity was interrupted when Annabeth and Percy walked past them.

They walked right up to the shoreline and sat down, holding hands, minutes before they even noticed Will and Nico on the beach too.

"Oh hey guys," Percy said, freely letting a thin smile grown onto his face.

In unison, Nico and Will's head snapped over to look at the other couple sitting beside them on the beach.

"Hi Perce," Nico said, " I see you brought Annabeth with you!"

"Yeah, this has kind of been our favourite spot since we started dating," Percy refuted with a cheeky smile.

Nico laughed but Will just stared on with a hollow expression. And the silence resumed. The soft crashing of waves drowned out any thoughts anybody was having. The air was empty and still, until Percy broke it.

"So do you guys want to play a game of cards," Percy asked as he pulled a deck of cards out of his pocket.

There was a chorus of yeahs and sures, as Percy started dealing the cards. The group spent the hours before the sun set playing cards, and laughing, having the time of their lives.

When it finnally started to get cold the four decided to just sit and talk, while staring at the stars. Not even staring, marveling, at the beauty of space that surrounded them.

The last thing Nico remembered was closing his eyes for a split second.

 _〜_ _Three hours later_ _〜_

The whistling of the conch shell rose Nico from his sleep. At first, it almost felt as though the noise was in his dream, it took him a solid minute to finnally realize that the noise was in fact external.

Nico opened his eyes to a bright and beautiful morning, the sun reflecting off the calm, still water of the sound, a gentle warm breeze coasting by. He took a moment to just take in the calamity that surrounded him, he was almost sure that the earth had stopped spinning.

He looked to his side and saw a beautiful blonde head of hair on his shoulder. As far as he could tell, Will was asleep. Given the way that Will had been looking in the past few days, Nico knew that he needed it. And so he let him sleep, just trying his best to stay still.

He then looked over at the other side of the beach where Percy and Annabeth had been just hours before. They had most likely become too cold and headed back to their own cabin to get some rest. Strangely enough, Nico was completely fine with it. Contrary to all the other times that Will and Nico had been left alone together Nico didn't resent himself or feel uncomfortable, he felt at peace with himself, like he was put on the earth to experience this exact moment in his life.

The calamity and serenity of the moment seemed to end as Nico started to feel rapid rising and falling on his shoulder.

He turned his head to see Will hyperventaliting right beside him, he was clenching his fists and shaking in and of himeslf, he was vibrating. Nico placed his hands gently on Will's shoulders and moved him so he was more in front of Nico than beside.

"Will, Will, I need you to open your eyes for me," he said hoping that the desperation and fear in his voice wasn't audible, "Will please I need you to open your eyes for me."

And with the brevity of a strike of lightning, Will's eyes snapped open. His eyes darted all around Nico and the rest of the beach. Nico didn't know what was happening but he did know that Will was scared out of his mind.

Will pulled his knees up to his chest and continued to panic and cry.

"Hey Will," Nico said trying to be as level as he could, "it's me, Nico. And I'm right here okay, you're alright, you're safe."

Will's eyes finnally seemed to register where he was and who he was with. His eyes welled with tears and he sat back against the tree. He sobbed, he cried so hard and loud. Nico was alarmed. Nico didn't know what to do, so he did the only thing he could do. He grabbed Will and held him. He just held him.

"Shh its okay," Nico said softly as he ran his fingers through Will's hair, "I've got you, you're okay, don't worry."

Will sobbed for what seemed like an hour into Nico's chest. Nico's shirt was wet but he didn't mind, he didn't care at all. He wanted Will to know that he was safe. And that's what he did. Nico knew that he would sit against that tree for however long Will needed, just holding him and running his fingers through his hair.

Will looked up at Nico, his eyes red, his face swollen and his nose running.

"I'm sorry about your shirt," Will said quietly.

"Hey," Nico grabbed Will's shoulder, " it's okay don't worry about it."

Nico flashed him a small smile and Will smiled back. And so they returned to how they were before, leaning against the tree just watching the waves crash onto land. It was calming, soothing to both of them.

"Will?"

"Hmmm?"

"Would you want to go back to my cabin and get some rest?" Nico asked.

"Yes," Will said softly

Nico stood up from the base of the tree and offered his hand to Will, who gladly took it. Instead of walking directly through the field, Nico decided to take Will the way that Percy had shown him, through the forest. He had figured that Will would like the privacy and that the forest was was likely much calmer than the field with the bussiness of camp.

The pair walked through a lush trees on either side of them, moss everywhere, small animald flourishing, a small stream bursting with life. Beauty surrounded the two, Nico only wished that Will was introspective enough to see his own beauty and worth.

As they neared the cabin, Nico felt sad, he didn't know why, he just was. He stepped up the wooden steps and reached for the door knob, opened the door and stepped inside. The cabin was just how he liked it, cold and dark. Nico suddenly felt bad for Will. He suspected that Will wouldn't be as fond of the cool darkness as he was.

"Here," he said as he flicked on a single light, "why don't you take off your shoes and lay down on the bed, I'll grab you another blanket."

Will did as Nico had said just as Nico turned around to start taking the sheets off of the second bed in the cabin. He walked over to Will and gently placed the comforter ontop of him.

"Okay, Will, I'm going to be laying right over here on this bed if you need anything, anything at all okay?"

Will nodded his head softly and nuzzled his face into the pillow. Nico turned off the light and walked back to his own bed.

He was scared. He wanted to help Will but he wasn't sure how. He felt helpless. This was the second time in two weeks that he had been put in this same situation with Will. One where he was completely helpless, clueless. He was scared, he was so scared. What was he supposed to do.

Nico's thoughts were interrupted as a quiet voice piped up.

"Nico?"

Nico sat up expecting a request for water or some such matter.

"yes?"

"Would you...woukd you come lay beside me?" Will asked timidity filling his voice.

"Of course I will," Nico sair as he walked over to the bed that held Will.

He sat down softly and layed his head down on the pillow. He then reached out his hand to hold Will's. Nico only concerned himself with listening to Will's breathing. He was listening for any irregularities and counting how many times he breathed in a minute. Nico didn't know much, he really only had experience with his own anxiety. And he desperately hoped that it would be enough.

The two lay next to each other for almost a half hour, Nico waiting for Will to fall asleep. When Will finnally seemed to be in a deep sleep, Nico slipped out of the bed as gently as he could. He tip toed along the floor being careful not to wake Will.

He didn't even take the time to put on his shoes before he slipped out the door, gently closing the door behind him.

The light of the sun was blinding, compared to the vacuous darkness of Nico's cabin. The damp grass wet his feet as he walked across the field to the big house. He was nervous. He didn't want to betray Will's trust but he knew at the same time that Will needed help, and he needed it in a way that Nico couldn't provide.

Before he knew it, he was walking up the wodden porch of the big house and opening the door. He walked through the hallway and to the back, where the infirmary was. He took a deep breath and tried to steady himself before he stepped inside.

"Hi Nico," Kayla said with her usual bright smile, " If you have a seat here and I'll be with you in just a moment."

Nico did as he was told and sat in one of the chairs at the front of the infirmary. He didn't want to seem anxious but he couldn't help but bounce his leg. His hands were shaking and his heart was pounding.

A moment later, Kayla came back and told him to follow her to a private office in the back of the infirmary.

The room was white, peacefully white and simple. Nico assumed that this was used for meetings or talking about tragedy. Kayla motioned for him to sit in the chair across from the one she was sitting in on the other side of the desk. She reached into the drawer beside her and pulled out a piece of lined paper and a pen. She set them down and closed the door.

"So," she started expectantly, " what can I help you with?"

Nico took a deep breath and opened his mouth:

"Its about Will…" he said thinly concealing his anxiety, "I-I..I'm really worried about him."

"How so?"

"It's just we were sitting together at the beach last night and we fell asleep together. This morning, when I woke up he was still sleeping until he started having a panic attack and woke himself up. I almost couldn't pull him out of it. When I did he cried, he just sobbed for almost an hour. He's in my cabin now trying to get some rest but I'm really worried about him."

As Kayla finished writing down everything that Nico had told him, she sighed and looked up at Nico. She reached across the table to hold his hands in hers.

"Nico," she said with a sympathetic look on her face, "I'm really worried about him too. I appreciate you coming to see me, and I'll talk to Chiron and see what we can do in terms of professional help. Does that sound good?"

He took a big breath in relief. Finnally he felt like Will was going to be okay.

"Yes, thank you so much, Kayla."

"It's no problem, I appreciate the way you look after him," she said with a small smirk.

Nico kind of laughed and stood up. He walked out through the door of the small plain office he had been in, through the main ward and into the waiting room. He took a moment to stare at the plain, stiff chairs that filled the room. Had he really done the right thing? Would Will ever trust him again? Were the thoughts that plagues Nico as he walked down the old wodden steps of the big house and across the damp grass.

As Nico walked up the porch of his own dark cabin, he made sure to step lightly, trying desperately not to wake Will. He opened the door as quietly as he could. Making sure he let as little light in as possible. As he closed the door behind him, he held is breath to strady himself as he sat and layed back down on the bed beside Will.

At first he was focused completely on his own breathing, trying to slow his pant. Then, he wanted to match his to Will's, partly because he wanted to sleep and partly because he didn't want to disturb or risk waking Will.

He couldn't hear Will so he tried to listen more closely, he really couldn't hear Will. He snapped up, turned on the light to see the space in the bed next to him completely empty.

A warm wave of adrenaline washed over him as he began to tear apart his bed, layer from layer. He paced around the entire cabin thinking, just thinking.

He didn't know, so he bolted. He didn't even bother to close the door behind him. He sprinted across the field, up the steps, through the big house, the waiting room and into the main ward.

The loud slamming of the doors behind Nico startled Kayla. She stepped out of the room she was in wearing a yellow trauma gown and a procedure mask.

"Nico wh-"

"He's gone," Nico said as hot tears streamed down his face.

a/n: Thanks for reading, expect updates more frequently!


	13. Chapter 13: κοπανατζής

**a/n** : Hi guys! Here's another chapter, im hoping to get somewhere between chapter 17 and 20 before 2020 so stay tuned!

This chapter contains mention of self harm, depression, anxiety, death and trauma so please do not read if any of these themes upset you!

As per usual, I own nothinhg but the plot, all other rights go to Rick Riordan & disney hyperion. Enjoy!

 **Kayla's P.O.V**

She looked at the abcessed foot in front of her barely concealing her putrid disgust. She was about to grab a blade and a bucket to drain the abcess when she heard the door slam. Startled she stepped out of her curtained area to look at who had come through the door. It was Nico, he was breathing heavily, clearly stressed.

"Nico wh-"

"He's gone," Nico said as hot tears streamed down his face.

She tore off her thin yellow gown and plastic face shield and threw them in the biohazard bin right beside the door.

She walked over to Nico and got him to sit down on one of the beds and drew the curtain closed behind her as she walked out. She walked over to the desk and paged Austin 9-1-1. She considered calling Chiron too but lived in fear of bothering him for no reason.

She grabbed a glass and filled it with water and walked back into the curtained off bed where Nico was sitting. She handed him the glass of water and pulled up the chair next to him.

"Nico," she started trying to keep her voice as soft as possible, "I need you to explain what happened."

"I-I i'm not sure," he started cleary trying not to start crying, "I just went back to my cabin and he's..he's gone."

As he finished talking he started crying again.

Kayla, knowing that it was going to take a lot to calm Nico down, decided to instruct Austin what to do.

"Kayla," Austin said, out of breath, "what's going on?"

"There just seems to be a little bit of a situation," Kayla said trying not to give too much away, "anyways, there's someone with a pedal abcess that needs to be lanced and drained in procedure room two, if you would please take care of it."

She then pulled him close and whispered in his ear.

"Nico di Angelo is in there and he's really upset but please give him some privacy, he'd really appreciate it."

Austin nodded and walked to the stock room to get himself a gown and a mask. He had known Kayla since he was six and he had always known her to be extremely good in a crisis, so he knew not to ask too many questions.

Kayla stepped back into Nico's room and made sure he was okay before stepping out of the infirmary and down the wodden porch to find his way to the apollo cabin. As she neared, she started moving faster. She tore the door open, looked in each of the bunks, top and bottom, but there was no one. She knocked on the bathroom's door before opening it to also, find no one.

She walked out of the cabin to the arena, past the armory, through the stables, into the strawberry fields, to the forge, the volley ball court, arts and crafts before heading to the lake. She walked past the ampitheatre, the climbing wall, the dining pavillion and along the beach. She looped back through the woods, walking along the creek. Only when she returned to the big house did the fact that Will was gone finnally hit her. The adrenaline faded and she finnally began to feel the soreness in her legs.

She walked up the old decrepid wooden porch of the big house and directly into the study, where she knew that she'd find Chiron. She of course knocked just to be polite.

He nodded at her and she stepped in. Chiron took off his glasses and set them down on his desk before he spoke.

"What can I do for you, Child?"

"Will's gone," she said, " I know that there's protocol and everything to wait but something's wrong. The last person with him knew that he was extremely upset and then he just dissapeared. He isn't anywhere at camp. It's been probably an hour and a half since anyone's seen him last"

Chiron seemed to take a deep breath and bite his lip before he spoke next.

"Okay, let's wait another four hours and then we'll send a search party out. If we don't find him then, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it, okay?"

"Yes absolutely," she said as she turned and walked out of the room.

She turned down the hallway to the infirmary. She didn't have time for emotions, there were other people who needed her more than she needed herself in that moment.

She walked up to Austin,

"What's the status," she said trying to be as descreet as possible.

"We've had two other sprains come in and one face lac. Nico's...I'm not really what's up with him."

"Thank you, Austin, I know you're not actually in right now, but I appreciate it a lot."

"Hey, anytime," he said with a small smile.

She walked away and behind the counter to grab some charts. She picked a stack of clipboards and walked over to the bay where Nico was. She took a second to listen for signs of life before she entered. She checked her watch, 1:45 pm so another four hours until they6 would send people out to look for him.

She looked at him sitting on the bed and suddenly she knew exactly what Austin had been talking about. Nico was sitting there completely silently, motionelessly nonetheless. She walked past his bed and went to sit on the chair by the table so she could finish her charting.

She looked up at him and tried her best to make sure he was okay. She didn't want to speak, she had a feeling that he just needed silence.

She took the clipboard from the top of the pile and started looking it over. She was looking for any reason for a repeat checkup and making sure that everything is noted and signed off on.

After she had finished the first half of her pile she looked up at Nico. He was staring blankly at the wall again, just as he had been before. Kayla was worried, she didn't know Nico as well as Will did.

"Nico," she said cautiously.

"Hmm," he responded barely taking his eyes off the wall.

"Are you okay?" she asked

"I uhh.. I don't know," he said, "I guess I'll just go back to my cabin and sleep."

"Are you sure you're okay to go to your cabin?"

"Yeah, I think I'm fine."

And with that Nico stood up and walked away.

She would be lying of she said that she wasn't worried about Nico. Because she was, She honestly was very worried about him. But she was never the best at expressing her concern for others. So she sat back down and finished her charting.

Kayla knew that worrying really wouldn't do anyone any good so she decided to focus herself on the people that she could help.

 _〜_ _four hours later_ _〜_

They had called a meeting together with all the head campers of each cabin. The twenty of them packed together into the small room surrounding the ping pong table.

Chiron quieted everyone and started the discussion.

"Excuse me everyone, this matter is quite serious and concerns all of you," he paused for an instant to add dramatic effect, "we have a missing camper."

Everyone fell silent. Everyone at camp knew that the magical protections of the camp didn't extend beyond Thalia's tree, meaning that outside it, anyone would be completely vulnerable to whatever monster, god or anyone choose to do to them. And so no one ever crossed it if they didn't need to.  
Piper piped up,

"Who is it?"

Chiron's voice fell as he spoke,

"Will Solace,"

And again complete silence fell upon the room. Most people knew Will, he was head of the Apollo cabin, head healer and had saved the lives of many people at camp. No one had thought that Will would have chosen to cross the border and leave without telling anyone.

"We will put out a search Party for him, to ensure he isn't still on the camp grounds. We will need seven of you to participate."

What happened next amazed Kayla. Everyone's hands shot up into the air, even the people Kayla had known to pamper themselves endlessly and refuse to even hike. Everyone wanted to find Will.

Kayla stood up at talked to Chiron,

"I need to get back to the infirmary, but, keep me updated," she said

"Of course," he said with a small smile.

She walked down the hall back to the infirmary, she headed straight to the counter and grabbed her pulse ox, stethoscope and a blood pressure cuff. She headed over to the main ward and started to round on patients.

 **Nico's P.O.V**

He layed face down on his dark bed. He was tired. Boy was he tired. He was worried. He hadn't really known Will for that long but he had a feeling that it was unlike Will to run away. Nico was hurt too. He couldn't understand why Will didn't trust him. Or maybe he didn't like Nico. He wasn't really sure what was happening.

He was angry, he wanted to run, to scream, to cry. But he couldn't, he just couldn't muster any part of himself. He was sad, he was scared. His thoughts were going at a million miles per hour, but his body wasn't. He was perfectly still. Nico, though he didn't remember much, didn't feel like a still person.

He felt so much but nothing at all, all at the same time. He was a drop of rain in a hurricane. So he closed his eyes and slowed his breathing. He wanted to sleep, to get some peace but he had a feeling that he would be unable to sleep at all.

 **Kayla's P.O.V**

She dragged herself across the field and to her cabin. She pulled the door open and walked inside. She sat down on her bunk, the bottom one.

You see, there were two types of people at camp, those who enjoyed the top bunk, they were typically fun loving, crazy, impulsive people, the kind that jumped off the top to scare people in the morning.

And then there were those who had the bottom bunk, they were generally older, more serious and weren't really fans of the whole breaking bones and twisted ankles. That was Kayla, not that she didn't enjoy having fun, she honestly just really didn't like seeing people get hurt.

She sat on her bunk and craddeled her head in her hands, her elbows on her knees. And for the first time in hours, she let go. She released the tension from her body and let herself melt, like jell-o. With a strong exhale, she let go what seemed like a week's worth of muscle strain and tension. She was tired. But she couldn't ever really stop moving, between the infirmary and being the eldest of her siblings, she never really got too much time to herself. So, she never really got time to feel anything. Kayla didn't like to show emotion infront of everyone, it was really important not to infront of her patients, but she just didn't like to infront of her siblings or the rest of the camp.

With no one else in her cabin, she finnally let go of herself. She layed down on her side, her knees to her chest and she just cried. She sobbed.  
It had been months since Will had been deppressed. Kayla noticed it before him. Kayla knew will since he was ten, since he first came to the camp, he was eight months older than her but they were pratically like twins, or at least they used to be, untill Will started becoming deppressed.  
It was slow, he stopped being interested in playing music and having fun with his siblings. He never really went to the ampitheatre any more, in between his shifts, he just slept. He didn't really eat anymore. Kayla was the only one who noticed or perhaps the only one who said anything.

She knew he was a cutter, he knew that she knew. But Kayla honestly was too scared to say anything about it. It had happened twice that Kayla had to sew up his cuts. And it saddened her everytime. She wished that she could take his pain, she wished she could help him. She really didn't know how. She was worried that if she told Chiron that Will would stop coming to her, or that he would stop trusting her and that then something real would happen.

Though Kayla cared very deeply about Will but she had to admit that he'd put her in a very awkward situation. She was going to tell Chiron, she meant to a hundred times, she knew she should but she couldn't bring herself to. She was waiting for it to be bad enough though she didn't really have any quantitative way to measure it. She just would know, she thought.

It was so sad, Kayla had almost watched Will lose his personality and his light. He almost didn't care. He used to be so bright, so full of life, so full of light, his smile was as bright and golden as his hair. His eyes used to be so full of life, so full of wonder. But now, they were empty, cold and distant.

He had lost weight, but more signifigantly he had lost muscle. It wasn't drastic but he definetly looked smaller. His cheeks had almost started to look gaunt and sunken in. He was cold and pale a lot of the time, because he didn't really eat. His endurance had really suffered and his energy levels of course fell too.

She just let her tears flow. Will had recently been more distant, quieter, and of course his lack of eating had started to take effect. But she never guessed that he would have run away. Will was smart, he knew the dangers, maybe he just didn't care. Or maybe he wanted to die.

Another thing that Kayla knew about Will is that if he didn't want to be found, he wouldn't be. Thinking about this made Kayla incredibly sad. Will fully understood the value and the fragility of life. But he disregarded his own, completely. It was stupid of him but moreover it was just horrible for him.

Kayla was a gifted healer, one could say.

She could help with anything from a paper cut to stab injuries to central lines. But she couldn't help Will. The level of helpless and useless that she felt was unbareable to her.  
Her own brother was the only person in her life that she couldn't help.

She cried so hard her stomach hurt and her lips were blue. She opened her mouth to scream but nothing came out, it was silent. She was in so much emotional pain that her skin almost hurt. She breathed quickly and shallowly trying desperately to get enough oxygen. She couldn't breath, she couldn't move. All she could do was cry and scream silently.

Eventually she stopped. She had no more tears. Her face was swollen and dry and red but she didn't care. She was sure that nothing could make her feel better. She knew that no ammount of tears would bring Will back but she also knew that there wasn't much else that would.

She stood up off of her bed, her legs felt weak and tired. She walked across the cabin to the bathroom. She turned the water to as cold as it would go and splashed her face with it until she felt the slightest bit better.

She leaned on the counter and looked at herself in the mirror. She stared into her blue eyes. They reminded her of Will's. She and Will truly looked alike. It hurt. But at least she was able to see some part of him in herself.

She walked back to her bunk and layed down, not even bothering to move the blanket. And almost as soon as she closed her eyes, she slept.

 **Nico's P.O.V (also seven hours later)**

He didn't know what time it was, he didn't care what time it was. He didn't want to move, he was tired of breathing, tired of living. Everything seemed like too much. He pushed himself off of his bed and he pulled at the corner of the curtain.

It was the middle of the night, it was pitch black but the sky was beautifully clear. He pulled on a pair of shoes and opened the door. It was a cool night. His skin was cold but he didn't shiver. He walked across the field, through the wet grass.

Nico had to place in mind, he just wanted to walk. He walked for a long time before he found himself at the beach on the sound. The water calmly crashed against the shore, rythmically washing the sand ashore. It was a beautiful night.

He could see all of the stars in the sky, and the rest of the milky way. Nico knew almost nothing about astronomy or astrology for that matter but he still enjoyed looking at the sky.  
He started to peel off his pants and shirt as he walked towards the water. In nothing but his boxers, he waded into the water. It was freezing, but he didn't care. He took slow, deep breaths to avoid shivering and as he did he found he just became used to the wrapped itself around him like a snug blanket.

When he found he couldn't stand anymore, he pushed his head under the water. As he came up to the surface he floated on his back. Gazing up at the sky.

The moon was full, and there wasn't a cloud to be seen. It was beautiful. It really was, it was a sight to behold.

Nico thought about how truly small and by process insignifigant humans were, the earth was. In the scheme of time, the existence of the earth and the lifetime of humans was so small, so short.

He had meditated once, he didn't know where or why so he thought he'd give it a shot. He closed his eyes and relaxed his muscles. He focused in on his breathing, controling it's speed, depth and frequency. He tried to clear his mind, of any thoughts, be they about Will, Kayla or the insignifigance of the human race.

The only noise he payed attention to was the soft hum of water in his ears. His hair was long and so in the cold water, it floated freely, it didn't weigh down on him as it usually did. He was weightless, he didn't have to support any part of his body, which felt nice for once. The coolness of the water numbed his skin, it numbed his pain and forced him to focus his mind.

He was floating, quite litterally floating. Nico was so far away from everything, from the camp, from his family, if they were even there, and from his friends. But he didn't feel distant. He felt just as connected as he always did.

He layed in the water for hours, his eyes closed. When he did finnally open them, he saw the reddish light on the surface of the water, it was blinding. The light at the horizon, it was beautiful. The sun reflecting off of the water was blindingly bright.

He swam back to the shore and walked onto the sandy beach. He sat next to the pile of his clothes and just watched the sunrise. As he did, he thought about Will, about everything that had happened. It hurt but he didn't feel it, he didn't feel it too deeply, as deeply as he thought he should.

He stared at the sky for another hour until his skin and clothes were dry. He brushed himself off and started to get dressed. Once he had his clothes on, he turned away from the shore and walked directly back to his cabin.

a/n: I hope y'all enjoyed! See you soon with another chapter!

Edit: I had to edit this a little bit so it would fit better with the storyline lol.


	14. Chapter 14: Pain

**A/n:** Hi everyone! Here's another chapter! I hope you enjoy it! This chapter will include a mention of violence/abuse and medical trauma. Don't read if these upset you please!

All rights (except the plot) go to Rick Riordan.

 **Will's P.O.V**

He opened his eyes to a bright beam in his face.

"Get up," a deep voice barked at him.

Will rubbed his face. It was greasy and dirty, skin rolled off onto his fingers. He looked at the man in front of him.

The man was short, stout, and kind of pudgy. But nonetheless, he wore an NYPD badge proudly on his belt. He had a baton, handcuffs, a handgun and plenty of other things Will hoped he'd never have the unfortunate luck of learning about.

"You can't sleep here," the man said, not bothering to move the flashlight from Will's eyes.

Will reached his hand up to his face in a feeble attempt to shade his eyes. He sighed as he said.

"I know officer," he said, "I'm sorry to bother you."

He reached to his side for his beanie. Will placed it on his head and stood up to walk away. He only got about ten away before the officer spoke again.

"Hey, kid," the officer yelled from behind him.

The officer started walking towards Will, pulling out a piece of paper and a pen from his pocket. He took a second to scribble something on the paper before handing it off to Will.

"Here's the address for the local homeless shelter," he said nuding the paper for Will to take it, "they'll feed you and board you for a little while while you figure everything out."

"Thank you," Will said weakly.

The officer nodded and the two parted ways.

He was alone, and the night was cold. Will wasn't scared, he was just kind of complacent. He hadn't grown up in Manhattan, se he didn't know the city, nor the people. But it didn't bother him.

Will just wanted to sleep, his legs hurt and his eyes burned. He didn't know how long it had been since he had gotten to sleep for more than an hour. Park benches were good, as they usually lacked dividing railings, like the city bus benches had. He was so desperate he might have even slept in an alley, beside a dumpster were the chance to present itself.

Will walked, he was wandering and this time he truly was lost. He thought that if he just kept walking until the sun rose, he wouldn't have to worry about where he was going to sleep.

Will had no idea what time it was, but he guessed there would be around three hours until the sun rose.

 _Three hours,_ he thought, _that's not so bad._

But it was. It was so bad.

He turned many corners, and he even disobeyed the common knowledge of avoiding alleyways at night. Will walked right through the alleys and it wasn't that bad. There were a lot of rats. Like a lot of rats, and the occasional bat.

Will always thought bats were a little weird. They had poor vision, but they were excellent echo-locators. As a species, their diets ranged from small insects to fruit to livestock blood. You could call them diverse, or adaptive. But Will just thought they were strange.

As the night went on, the sky grew lighter but the temperature stayed the same. He was alone, but he didn't feel that lonely. Will never really considered how pretty Manhattan was just before dawn.

They called it the city that never sleeps, but to Will, it sure was asleep. If you didn't count the rats.

He walked and he walked. He couldn't feel his legs, the monotone impact of the asphalt kept him awake. His feet hurt and he wanted nothing more than to sit down. Will didn't know why he kept walking but he did nonetheless.

The sun started to rise over the water, it was beautiful, blinding, and reflective. Will had always liked the sunrise and the sunset. But it wasn't because of his father, it was because it was always the same. No matter where you were, who you were with or what you were doing, the sun rose and set. Just like how the earth turned and the moon cycled through its many forms.

Will found comfort in this simplicity and routine. So many things in life were unpredictable. Some people said that the only constant is change. But Will always thought it wasn't really true. Will supposed there were many constants, like hatred, war, famine, death and disease. But those were the ones we chose ignore, the less glamorous.

He watched the city awaken, slowly people started to trickle into the streets. The first wave was the well dressed, those who meant business. After that, it was the commoners: runners, dog walkers, yogis. Lastly, was everyone else: the entrepreneurs, the nine to five workers and the buskers.

Will felt like he fit in somewhere but he didn't know where. He supposed that at some point he'd be invited to his spot around the dumpster fire.

When Will was really little, he'd stay up way past his bedtime to make sure that if there was a fire in his house that he'd be able to carry all his toys out safely. Looking back on it, he thought it was so stupid, so juvenile and paranoid. But at the time, it was his biggest worry in the entire world. He longed so much to go back to the days of worrying about his teddy bears.

Will was so lost in his own head. Bombarded by his own thoughts. He did something he had done once before. He thought of his earliest memory and every subsequent one after that. Will thought it was kind of nice to play a little slidewhow in his head of his life. As one of his earliest memories, he thought sometime when he was very small running to his mother. Her hair was long and blonde and her features were so delicate. He was very small, his head barely reaching her waist.

And he fell. As any kid does, he burst into tears, but not from pain, just from the shock. His mother came and swopped him into her arms and held him tight until he calmed down. Will's childhood was terrible, it sucked. But it wasn't all bad.

Some days were better than others. Sometimes his mom was happy. And they did normal things together, like go to get ice cream, or to the movies, or the park. Those days were the best. Will loved seeing how alive his mom was, he lived to see the life and light in her eyes.

As time went on however, those days got fewer and farther between. He tried so hard to remember how happy his mom was, and how much he loved her when she hurt him.

Will eventually ran out of happy memories to think of. Eventually, he ran out of comfort.

By this time, the sun had fully risen. Its rays reflecting in many directions, its warmth on his back constant yet erratic.

Homeless. He supposed that's what he was now. But he didn't understand. He wasn't like everyone else. He hadn't actually lost his job. Or been kicked out. He was a runaway, but not really. Will was neither running away from or towards something. He was in perpetual motion yet somehow completely still.

It's not that he didn't have a home, he did have a home, and a family. But he didn't belong. He and they both knew it, he wasn't gifted. Will had a gift in neither music or healing, like the grand majority of his siblings.

Kayla was an amazing healer and most of his siblings were truly musically gifted. Will was just the runt of the group, he was alright at most everything he did, nothing was truly impressive about him.

He thought and he thought. He found an alleyway, one he thought was quiet and relatively safe, if there even was a safe alleyway in new york city.

He sat on the far side of a dumpster, only a thin piece of cardboard between him and the asphalt. He was somewhat hidden from the public.

He relaxed and let his breathing slow, his eyes close. Will let himself sleep.

" _Stop," he pleaded, "please stop!"_

 _But she didn't. And she never did. The crack of a whip against Will's skin hurt, it burned and made it swell and stick up. But he didn't know any life without it._

 _Her hand half gripped his shirt and half gripped his throat. She slammed him against the wall, his pelvis, skull and shoulder blades making painful contact with the drywall._

" _Don't you_ ** _ever_** _fucking do that again," she said as she let him go._

 _She was just about to walk out when she turned ungracefully and swung at him._

 _Will was small and hurt but he was fast too._

 _He ducked and she swung at the wall directly above his head. The hollow crackle of drywall and dust on his head frightened him._

 _Her missing ignited her anger and she looked like she was going to hit him a thousand times harder._

" _Come here you little shit," she said between gritted teeth as she lunged for him._

 _He ran, he slammed the door behind him, hoping to slow her at least a little bit in her drunken stupor._

 _He ran down the hallway and down the stairs. Looking behind him was a mistake because as soon as he did, his face made contact with the floor._

He gasped like he was surfacing from a pool. His face and his chest wet with sweat. Heat of an adrenaline rush quickly washing over him.

It was night again. The sky was dark and clear but there were hardly any stars visible.

The fact that he was in an alleyway and had slept leaned against a wall became painfully obvious to him. His lower back screamed and his neck was on fire.

Footsteps started to approach him. Will's head snapped up to see a gaggle of teenagers dressed in jeans, t-shirts and sneakers walking towards him. Will tried his very hardest to not show fear in his eyes, but he sadly wasn't too good.

All through grade school and his first two years of high school, he had never really been friends with these kind of people. Better yet, they were usually enemies. Will wasn't too sure what it was about him that bothered those people so much. Was he too submisive? Because he sure as hell wasn't too confrontational.

Will's instincts told him to get up and he did. He walked with urgency but he didn't run.

"Get him," one of the voices behind him boomed.

Suddenly, two tall, dark figures grabbed him on either side and shoved him into the damp asphalt below him. He couldn't make out their faces but he didn't really care to anyways.

A hand reached over to his shoulder and savagely flipped him onto his back. The body belonging to that hand took a step over Will so his legs were on either side.

Before he knew it, a fist was in Will's face. Someone's rough knuckles collided directly with his cheekbone. He tried desperately to wiggle away but a hand roughly gripped his throat, not enough to choke him but just enough to keep him still.

Will felt warm blood trickling down the side of his face and onto the cement under him. The rest of the group formed a circle around the helpless boy on the ground.

Will tried to reach up and grab the boy who was mercilessly punching him but he just couldn't, his arms were like cooked spaghetti. He had never really realized how weak he had gotten.

When the boy he assumed was the alpha finally got bored with Will, he grabbed his cheek and rubbed his face into the asphalt one last time before standing up.

They started chanting something but Will couldn't make out above the pounding in his ears.

Their circle got tighter as they kicked Will all across his body. He was sure it wasn't intentional but none of them kicked at the same time. Their feet and shoes pounding into him like a thousand different hammers smashing him all at the same time.

He couldn't care less what was happening to him. Will didn't have the energy anymore. He knew that eventually either they would stop or he would.

Perhaps they continued for hours or maybe just minutes. It all felt the same, he felt his ribs break and his knees buckle in. He was so tired. He was in so much pain, in a pool of his own blood, his entire body pulsating and burning. He was so completely numb and felt like his skin was on fire all at the same time.

The boys finally stopped, after gods knows how long. He was relieved and disappointed all at the same time. They ran, their feet slapping the ground as they retreated. Before he knew it, his vision went dark and an overwhelming calm swept over him.

 ** _~A few hours later~_**

Someone was gripping his shoulders, shaking him awake. Their fist then moved to rub their knuckles along his sternum. He was barely strong enough to open his eyes.

He saw her lips moving but he couldn't hear her. It's like he was underwater, all sounds were muffled and all the colours muted.

Will saw her pull out her phone and dial someone. As soon as he did his vision went dark and he lost consciousness again.

He opened his eyes to a mask on his face, strapped onto a stretcher, a man craning over him, trying to put an IV in his arm. Everything was a little bit fuzzy but he could hear a little bit more clearly this time.

"It's okay," the man said trying to sound calm and reassuring, "you're okay it's all going to be just fine."

Will reached up to his face to take off the mask but just as suddenly, he lost all feeling in his body and closed his eyes.

He was getting really tired of this, slipping in and out of consciousness.

Will opened his eyes to see the moving ceiling above him. The same man that placed his IV was walking beside him and another woman standing just behind him, pushing his stretcher. There were at least two more people standing on either side of him wearing the same paper thin yellow trauma gowns and blue latex gloves that he and Kayla did.

Someone leaned over him and tried to say something. He couldn't hear them and he was a terrible lip reader.

His vision went dark once again and he was dead to the world.

 _ **~like maybe a little while later~**_

Will groaned himself awake.

He was _painfully_ aware of everything that was going on in his body.

A central line was sore and protruding from the left side of his chest, just below his collarbone. It hurt to breathe, it hurt to exist.

He also had an NG, which he assumed was for decompression given the french of the tube. Will was also covered in countless wires and tubes. He had what he could feel as a twelve point EKG, a nasal cannula for oxygen, something he assumed was a drain in his abdomen and a tube in his nether regions.

He lifted his gown to see a ten centimetre incision in the centre of his abdomen. It was swollen and had a drain coming out of it.

Will grunted, his abdomen hurt, his chest hurt and he felt like he was going to die.

A woman with a kind face wearing pink scrubs walked through the door. She bypassed him, not noticing that he was awake. She quickly checked his three IVs and then looked at his vitals and finally his oxygen concentrator.

"Oh, you're awake," she said, a look of shock coming across her face, "how are you feeling, sweet pea?"

She had long brown hair pulled into a neat bun on the top her head, her eyes were a warm honey brown and calmly inviting. Will wasn't usually the best with guessing ages but he supposed she was maybe five or ten years older than him. But she was an old soul, that was for sure.

Will swallowed with great effort and spoke hoarsely.

"I-I'm okay, thank you," he said with great consternation.

She looked pleased to hear this.

"What's your name sweetheart?"

"Will, my name's Will."

"Hi Will, nice to meet you, my name's Shonda."

Will liked Shonda, she clearly cared about her patients and was very nice, she was the kind of person he would have loved to work with.

"Do you know what has happened to you?"

He shook his head lightly, being in too much pain to make any verbal response.

"Okay sweetie, someone found you in an alley and you were pretty hurt. We brought you in and we needed to take out your spleen, that's what the long incision on your stomach is. Are you okay?"

He nodded. Everything she was saying to him made perfect sense. He had a chest tube on the same side, from what he also assumed was a hemothorax.

"You have some tubes and wires attached to you but it's all to make sure that you're okay Will. In the coming days you'll start to have them come out okay. Does that sound okay to you Will?"

"Yes," he said as softly as possible, "yes, thank you."

"Now get some rest," Shonda said as she brushed a strand of hair out of his face.

He closed his eyes and let himself go.

 **A/n** : I _**PROMISE**_ I don't have a medical fetish, I'm just an aspiring health care practitioner and I really appreciate accuracy. I sincerely hope you've enjoyed this. Updates will become more frequent with the whole COVID-19 thing.


	15. Chapter 15: Unrequited Love

A/n: hello, I'm here with another chapter. I hope you enjoy!

As always, all rights (except for the plot) go to Rick Riordan.

 **Nico's P.O.V**

Nico opened his eyes to the same thing he always did. The influx of light shining through the dusty air in his cabin onto the floor.

He breathed in a deep breath and sighed loudly as he sat up on the edge of the bed. His bony feet rested carefully and gently on the wooden floor below him.

The Hades cabin was always cold, no matter what Nico tried to do. So he resorted to using a thick comforter year round and two during the winter. Many of the boys around camp slept shirtless and the girls in skimpy shorts and t-shirts. Nico, however, always wore his sweatpants and a t-shirt, that and sometimes a hoodie.

Nico had no idea where the impulse came from but, he made his bed every single morning, perhaps it was his italian background or maybe he was just a neat-freak.

He made sure to carefully fold over the edges of his comforter and delicately stood up the pillows. Whenever Nico made his bed, he made delicate "hospital" corners and folded the comforter under the mattress. Nico also liked to wash his sheets once a week and he used a lavender scented soap.

Most cabin's were disheveled, a complete mess but not Nico's. Perhaps it was because he was the only one in his cabin but maybe it was just the kind of person he was. Nico's cabin was immaculate, exceptionally organized but still minimalistic. There was little decoration and Nico had few personal items, other than his many t-shirts.

Few people were ever invited to enter his cabin. Percy had come in. Nico had hoped that one day Will would come into his cabin.

Nico grabbed his towel and a clean pair of jeans and a t-shirt with a smiling skull on it. He headed into his dark bathroom to take a shower, wash his face and brush his teeth. When he was done, he knelt down by the door to tie the laces on his sneakers. He grabbed a ratty hoodie he had always had that was by the door. He pulled it over his head and headed out the door.

He walked across the field to the pavilion and sat at the big three table with Percy.

Percy looked as always, bright and happy, his hair nicely styled and his t-shirt slightly showing off his buff arms. Percy wasn't a try hard, in fact he was anything but. He wanted to be there for people and he would go to the ends of the earth for his friends. Like he would quite literally go to the end of this realm for his friends.

"Good morning, Nicholas," Percy said.

"What makes you think you can call me that?" Nico said with a slight chuckle.

Nico was so thankful for Percy. Percy could make any of Nico's worries go away when he just rambled on about random things.

"So did you hear," he said in a suspenseful tone, "we're going canoeing later. Wanna be my partner?"

Nico giggled at the thought of the strong, tall and buff Percy choosing the short scrawny Nico as his partner.

"Sure," he said with a smile on his face, "I do hope you know though that I've never canoed before."

"I'm sure we'll be fine."

Nico was reassured though if he was being honest, he couldn't reliably tell anyone the difference between a kayak and a canoe.

He was going canoeing, with Percy and while this wasn't something he thought would go well, at least he had something to look forward to.

He looked down at his plate and saw a thick piece of…..focaccia bread?

Percy was just as confused if not more confused than Nico when he looked at his plate. Nico shrugged and said.

"Ah just like mama used to make," Nico said in a thick faux-Italian accent.

He and Percy laughed and went about their breakfast.

 _ **~A few hours later~**_

Nico and Percy were in Nico's cabin, packing a bag for the canoeing excursion. Percy was sprawled across Nico's bed like an impolite house guest, which perhaps he was.

Nico reached into his dresser and pulled out a lightweight backpack. He put a change of clothes in a plastic bag and neatly folded a towel and pushed it in on top.

Percy was rambling on about something about the largest mod pack there had ever been in minecraft coming out in the spring. Nico vaguely remembered the words like shaders and render distance being thrown out but Nico had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.

Computers weren't allowed on the grounds as they, like many other electronics, had a nasty habit of attracting unwanted visitors. As such, Percy often went to the nearest internet café to get his weekly fix of minecraft.

When he finally got down to packing a pair of shoes, he looked to Percy.

"Percy?"

But he rambled on and just talked about his minecraft world plans.

"Percy," he said slightly more anxious, "hey!"

But it was as if Percy had suddenly gone deaf.

"PERCY!"

"Huh," he said weakly.

"What shoes should I wear," Nico said as he held up two pairs, "crocs of keens?"

"Uh keens are a good choice but the style behind crocs," Percy said.

"You're absolutely no help."

"No but I am very pretty," Percy said with a grin.

As soon as the conversation was over Percy launched immediately back into his philosophical analysis of minecraft.

Nico rolled his eyes as he slipped his crocs on after flipping them into sport mode.

Nico didn't buy the crocs himself, to be clear. Percy had brought them to his cabin one day, with no explanation as to where they came from. They were perfect though, black and had a single skull ornament on it.

Percy had tried to "culture" him as to the relevance of crocs in modern pop culture but it wasn't really all that successful.

Nico was about twenty paces away from his door until he realized that Percy wasn't following behind him.

Nico sighed and turned around to return to Percy. He delicately opened the door and peeked his head in to look at Percy, who was impressively still talking about Minecraft.

"Well are you coming?"

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot," Percy said as he sprung up from the bed.

"I know," Nico said barely audibly.

The pair headed over to the lake and stepped out onto the dock. There were about ten other people standing on the dock along with Nico and Percy. Nico didn't know any of them but he shyly introduced himself to them.

Percy let Nico pick out the canoe. Nico picked a shorter emerald green canoe. Nico left his backpack on the dock where his dry clothes and towel could stay dry. While Nico was securing his backpack and untying the boat, Percy was getting them paddles.

The two climbed into the canoe, with Percy in the front and Nico in the back. They started paddling and it was easy enough at first. There wasn't an objective nor a group or a path. They just paddled, the clear water was beautiful, it was even majestic. The sun reflected off it's surface into Nico's eyes but he didn't mind. It was unbelievably clear and cool on the water's surface.

They paddled out onto the lake for about an hour before they found a slightly shaded bay to take a break.

"So how've you been," Percy asked calmly as he craned his neck around to see Nico.

"Um okay I guess," Nico said awkwardly, "how are you?"  
"I'm good, Annabeth's out with her family which I'm sure she's enjoying so I don't have much to do."

"My gods Percy," Nico said as he laughed.

"Okay," Percy giggled, "you and I both know that is not what I meant."

"Sure you didn't."

The rest of their break occurred in silence, both of them lost in their own heads.

Nico looked at the trees on the other shoreline, they were beautiful shades of green, ranging from emerald to a brownish moss and they all blended together to form a singular dynamic blob of green. There were some mares, prancing calmly along the shoreline and the occasional seagull or duck.

The wind rustled the trees around him making beautiful calming white noise. The leaves hit each other and their branches incessantly. The dull rhythm of life had always been calming to Nico. He loved the sounds of the trees and the rain or the wind along a building, they were so calming.

But not a moment too soon, their peace was disturbed. Their canoe slid directly onto the muddy bank. It had slowly been making it's way over to the bank before it finally made its way onto the shore.

"Are you _fucking_ kidding me?"

Percy climbed out of the canoe onto the muddy sand. Nico just sat and watched, calmly as if he was the housewife in this scenario.

"Do you want me to get out and help," Nico asked timidly, "or is it okay if I just stay here?"

"The idea is that you stay in and I push the canoe out then I get in," Percy said between grunts.

Though that was the plan, though after a few minutes of insanely strenuous work from Percy Nico began to get really concerned.

"Are you _sure_ you don't need my help?" Nico asked calmly.

"Actually, get out of the canoe," Percy said, panting.

Nico did as he was told and climbed up the canoe, and over the side to stand beside Percy.

"So what now?"

"Nothing, we're going to walk back," Percy said calmly as he turned to start walking away.

"We're what?" Nico said in disbelief.

"We have to walk back, the canoe's too stuck in the mud," Percy said calmly.

Nico shrugged, he wasn't really one to argue given that he hadn't ever been canoeing or on an outdoor "adventure" before. As he began to walk, the sticky mud pulled his crocs off.

"Percy wait up," he yelled after him.

Percy was at least twenty feet ahead of Nico when Nico lost his shoes. Nico crouched down to attempt to loosen his shoes. He strained for a moment before giving up.

"Don't worry I'll get you new ones," Percy called over to him.

Nico stood up and began to walk towards Percy, his bare feet feeling all of the moist soil under him.

His face grew hot and his breath started to shake. Nico's eyes started to water and fill his vision. He tried desperately to stifle his tears but not a moment too soon they started to flow freely from his eyes.

It took Percy a solid moment to notice, not because he didn't care but moreover because Nico was just barely out of earshot.

When Percy turned around, the look on his face was of pure pain.

"Hey," Percy said soothingly, "what's happening bud?"

"I-I just really loved those crocs," Nico said in between sobs.

"No come on, this isn't just about crocs," Percy said as he swept a single lock of hair out of Nico's eyes, "What's really going on? You can tell me."

"Can we at least sit down first?"

"Of course."

The pair walked, Percy holding Nico in a tightly reassuring side hug as they approached a rock to sit on. Percy helped Nico sit and then sat at his side. Nico took a deep breath before shakily starting his sentence.

"I just, I miss him so much," Nico said before beginning to sob again.

"Who Nico?" Percy asked him gently.

"Will."

"Oh my Nico," Percy said as he pulled him into a hug.

"I just miss him when I wake up and when I go to sleep. There's almost not a single moment where I don't think about him. It hurts so much to see him destroy himself like this. I like him Percy, I really do."

Percy pulled Nico into a tight hug, Nico's face resting on his chest. Percy's breathing was calm and steady, unlike Nico's which was ragged and erratic.

"He's okay Nico," Percy said, trying his best to be reassuring, "I don't know Will that well but he's very smart and wherever he is, he'll be okay."

"But you don't know that," Nico said, tears streaming down his face.

"Maybe I don't know if he's okay," Percy said, "but he is at least alright. And so are you."

Nico said nothing, he couldn't muster any energy to say anything. He sobbed for what he thought might have been an hour onto Percy's chest. When he finally pulled away, he looked at the vaguely humanoid wet spot on Percy's shirt and chuckled to himself.

"Thank you Percy," Nico said, drying his face, "I really appreciate you. And I'm sorry about your shirt."

"It's fine dude, don't worry about it," Percy said, "Do you want to wear my shoes back to camp?"

"No that's okay, but we should head back before dinner," Nico said just before standing up and walking in the general direction of the dining pavilion.

Suddenly, Percy grabbed his wrist and whirled him around.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Percy asked, a sympathetic look on his face.

"No but I feel better," Nico said, a smile creeping onto his face, "so thank you."

With that, Percy stood up and walked beside Nico to the dining pavilion.

 _ **~a few hours later~**_

The rest of the evening passed somewhat without event. Nico sat at the campfire for a little while, listening to the music from the Apollo cabin and basking in the warm orange glow of the fire. Nico didn't really participate, he just enjoyed being there, being there was enough for him. But eventually, it made him too sad, so he headed into his cabin for the night.

He walked in, took his shoes off at the door and carefully placed them on the mat by the door. He headed to the bathroom so he could wash his face and brush his teeth, which always made him feel better before he went to sleep. He changed out of his jeans and t-shirt to his favourite sweatpants and hoodie.

He grabbed some water to take his allergy pill, swallowed it and set his alarm. Nico then pulled out his journal and chronicled his day. He was embarrassed, he couldn't lie. He had cried in front of Percy and not for any really good reason. Will had been gone for almost a week at this point. Nico knew the statistics, well at least the ones that applied to kidnapping. Every day that Will was gone significantly reduced the likelihood that he would return.

It hurt, it really did. Nico couldn't understand why Will ran away. Nico knew that Will wasn't a coward, but his actions sure did make him seem like one. He really cared about Will. It would suck if Nico knew that Will was hurt or if he was okay but not knowing was so much worse than either alternative.

Nico was so thankful for Percy, for his friendship, for his support. But as much as Percy helped Nico, they both knew that there was very little, if anything that either of them could do for Will. Will needed help, help that neither of them could give.

Nico wrote a really long entry, almost two pages. He usually wrote a single page or just a half and he only wrote more when he was upset. He wrote about everything, everything he felt, his journey with Percy, losing his crocs, crying on Percy's chest and so much more. His hand started to cramp before he shut his journal, put it in the drawer of his nightstand, turned off the light and went to sleep.

a/n: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, hoping to be back soon with another chapter in possibly a new point of view. See you soon!


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